FCCPC vows to prosecute PoS operators over collaborative service price fixing
Members of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) have been accused of fixing service prices collectively, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has vowed to bring legal action against them.
In a statement, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, reacted to what seemed to be AMMBAN’s adamancy and insistency on a membership-wide implementation of price fixing.
Irukera stated in Abuja on Monday that the FCCP Act 2018 would be followed in the prosecution.
In accordance with the FCCPA, he claimed, the Commission escalated the situation and sent an Order and Notice (ONC) to AMMBAN, executives, members, and non-member PoS operators.
According to the Order, the operators must stop engaging in behaviour that violated the law.
Irukera claimed that violating the Commission’s Order resulted in additional penalties in addition to the N10,000,000 charge for corporate entities and the N1,000,000 and/or a prison term of up to three months for individuals.
“The Commission issued a warning to the association and Point of Sale (PoS) operators warning them against participating in coordinated or concerted efforts (also known as price-fixing or cartel).
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“The advisory is also intended to prevent the association from acting in support of any such coordinated or concerted efforts to determine, announce, or put into effect consistent price changes for the services they provide.
“The Commission issued and delivered the ONC to AMMBAN.
“The Commission has publicly released the ONC before and is doing so once more.
“The ONC, however, conveys the Commission’s intention to enforce the law, including up to and including prosecuting violators and affiliates who may otherwise be statutorily liable for the conduct,” the ONC states.
According to him, “the impunity associated with continuing in a course of action prohibited by law and plainly prohibited by regulators usually constitutes aggravating factors in determining penalties for illegal conduct.
He gave the operators some advice about following the Commission’s Order.
