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2014 FIFA World Cup

Russian watchdog fines hotels $147,000 for price gouging ahead of 2018 FIFA World Cup

By May 28 the watchdog has registered 756 cases of price gouging for hotel accommodation

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. Hotels nationwide have been slapped with fines totaling 9.2 million rubles ($147,000) for price gouging ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing said in a statement.

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Everything to be done for 2018 FIFA World Cup guests ‘to feel like home in Russia’ — Putin

Eighteen such violations were unearthed over the past week. In total, by May 28 the Russian consumer rights watchdog had registered 756 cases of price gouging at hotel accommodations.

In addition, 199 cases where hotels lacked classification documents were uncovered. Meanwhile, all hotels in cities that will host the World Cup matches must undergo obligatory classification for star-ratings depending on the level of provided services.

Sweeping hotel checks in the regions that will host the World Cup matches started in late February.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will run from June 14 to July 15 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Sochi.

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