The Competition Council has fined four undertakings for bid rigging in approximately 60 public procurement procedures. The investigation covered the period from 2018 to 2020, and the fined enterprises  are “APS Service Grup’” LLC, „Moncomtex’” LLC, „Sud-Terra’” LLC, and „Zagorlar” LLC.

The mentioned undertakings operate in the construction sector, with their primary business activity being the execution of construction works for residential and non-residential buildings. They also provide services in the road infrastructure sector, including road and sidewalk repairs, as well as other types of works specific to the construction sector.

The investigation conducted by the Competition Council revealed that the undertakings involved had provided a single individual with information regarding the bids they intended to submit in public procurement procedures. This individual, who was the head of one of the companies, prepared the participation documents on behalf of all the undertakings, thereby facilitating bid coordination.

Such an exchange of information between competitors and the involvement of a single individual in the preparation of documentation eliminated any uncertainty regarding the actions of the participants in public procurement procedures, constituting a serious infringement of competition law. Such a practice falls under the category of hardcore cartels, which are considered among the most severe restrictions of competition, as they directly distort market mechanisms and undermine the fair conduct of public procurement procedures.

These actions constitute infringements of Article 5 of the Competition Law, which prohibits agreements or concerted practices that distort competition in the market. Consequently, the Competition Council imposed fines on the four undertakings, amounting to a total of approximately 4.7 million MDL.

The full decision will be published on the official website of the Competition Council (www.competition.md) following the redaction of confidential information.