Ecuador: Claro escapes 82 million dollar fine

A fine imposed by Ecuador’s market regulator on mobile operator Conecel (Claro, part of América Móvil’s multinational business empire) totalling $82.7 million US, was cancelled last week by a Guayaquil appeals court. The mobile operator’s appeal was approved, temporarily suspending the sentence by the SCPM.

SCPM president Pedro Páez has said that he is unaware of the District Court’s appeal ruling, as it has not been notified to him in writing. Conecel had been given a 15 day period, beginning on August 30th this year, to pay the total of the fine – equivalent to 5.37% of its total sales volume for 2015. The sanction was the result of the firm’s failure to comply with a series of compromises stemming from previous violations, including a temporary suspension of all exclusivity clauses in their property leasing contracts.

Teodoro Maldonado, Claro’s legal director, has said that the fine represents “a new instance of abuse and a violation of corporate rights”. The trial, he found had not taken into account the legal arguments and evidence presented since 2013, which would have allegedly helped to show that the compromises had been met. Conecel has announced it will challenge the decision all the way to international arbitration, if necessary.

Full Content: El Comercio

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