Weko fines eight companies
Between 2002 and 2009, eight road construction and civil engineering companies in the districts of See-Gaster (SG) and March and Höfe (SZ) agreed on prices in several hundred tenders and determined who should be awarded the contract. The Competition Commission has imposed fines totaling around 5 million Swiss francs on the companies.
The investigation of the Competition Commission (Weko) was opened in April 2013, in particular on the basis of a statistical analysis of bid opening protocols with house searches, as the Weko writes. According to the information provided, it emerged that De Zanet AG, Hagedorn AG, Oberholzer Bauleistungen AG, Implenia Schweiz AG (or Batigroup), Walo Bertschinger AG St. Gallen, Gebr. P. und J. Reichmuth AG, Toller Unternehmungen AG and Bernet Bau AG colluded from 2002 to mid-2009 on the submission of bids in order to manipulate the awarding of public and private road and civil engineering projects in the districts of See-Gaster, March and Höfe.
"Market Clarification Sessions."
Within the framework of the above-mentioned agreements, the above-mentioned companies met regularly until mid-2009 for "market clarification meetings". During these meetings, they discussed constantly updated lists they had compiled themselves, on which current road and civil engineering projects of public or private developers were listed, as the Weko emphasizes. The eight companies exchanged views on their respective interests for the procurements. If there was agreement, the company that was to be awarded the contract was determined. The other companies subsequently offered their services at higher bid prices, the Weko further writes. In the period between 2002 and mid-2009, the companies influenced hundreds of road and civil engineering submissions in this way and agreed on prices accordingly.
Self-disclosure helps
Such cooperation to divide up submissions by means of price agreements is particularly harmful to the national economy and constitutes a serious violation of the Cartel Act, as the Weko emphasizes. In setting the fine, the severity of the restriction of competition and the duration of the overall agreement are taken into account. One company was granted full immunity from fines because it was the first to turn itself in after the house searches and cooperated very well with the competition authorities. A second company had its fine partially reduced.
The fight against bid rigging is one of the focal points of the competition authority's activities. The Weko decision can be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court.
