MOSCOW, March 2 - RAPSI. The Federal Antimonopoly Service fined TNK-BP Holding $47.3 million under the "third wave" of antitrust cases against vertically integrated oil companies, the service reported on Friday.

The watchdog was expected to charge TNK-BP 1.8 billion rubles ($61.35 million). However, watchdog's head Igor Artemyev later said the fine amount might be reduced as the company admitted violations.

The antimonopoly service found TNK-BP guilty of manipulating fuel prices and imposing unfair conditions on the fuel market during the second and third quarters of 2011.

The third wave was initiated in February 2011. The watchdog found Rosneft, LUKOIL, Gazprom Neft and TNK-BP guilty of breaking antitrust law and manipulating diesel and jet fuel prices between the fourth quarter of 2010 and early 2011.

The same companies were punished in the first two waves in 2008-2009. Their fines totaled roughly 26 billion rubles ($864 million). Later, the watchdog reduced its claims to 15 billion rubles ($499 million) as a result of several settlement agreements.