Firms must pay over 927 thousand hryvnias for anti-competitive behavior during the bidding
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has uncovered collusion between Spetsmontazhservis LTD LLC and Dominant Partner Group LLC during a procurement process for an agrarian university. The total amount of fines imposed on the companies is 927,016 hryvnias. This was reported by Delo.ua citing Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
The expected value of the tender where the violation was identified reached 35 million hryvnias. The university was procuring services related to the cultivation and harvesting of sunflower seeds, but fair competition between the bidders was absent.
Details of the AMCU investigation
During the analysis of the companies’ actions, the Committee’s specialists recorded several circumstances indicating coordinated behavior between both bidders. It was proven that the firms engaged in anti-competitive concerted actions aimed at creating artificial advantages to win the contract.
Consequences for the business
In addition to paying financial penalties imposed for violating economic competition legislation, the companies face further administrative restrictions. Under the Law on Public Procurement, entities punished for tender manipulation may be barred from participating in procurement procedures for the next three years.
Photo: Delo.ua
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