FAS exposed a cartel of equipment suppliers for public needs

FAS Commission found that suppliers of equipment for “Vybory” State Automated System of the Russian Federation violated the antimonopoly law. Cartel participants may be imposed turnover fines (from 10 to 50% of the initial maximum contract price under Part 2 Article 14.32 of the Code on Administrative Violations).

Having investigated the case, FAS found that “Aquarius” Production Company” Ltd. and “KROK Incorporated” CJSC violated Clause 2 Part 1 Article 11 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”. The companies concluded and participated in an agreement that resulted in maintaining prices at open tenders for the services for maintaining software-hardware suite of the allocated segment of Moscow Data Processing Centre for the needs of “Information City” Moscow  State Budgetary Institution, for the services of systemic support to Rosstat informational-and-computational system for the needs of Federal State Statistical Service.

FAS established that a group of persons - “Aquarius” Production Company” Ltd.  and “National Computer Corporation” Ltd., as well as “Business Computers Group” Ltd. and “AMI-NETWORK” Ltd. entered in an anticompetitive agreement, that resulted in maintaining prices at an open electronic auction for supplying system blocks for automation tool means for regional fragments of “Vybory” State Automated System for the needs of “Federal Informatization Centre under the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation”. The companies’ economic activity was coordinated by “Hewlett-Packard AO” CJSC; as a result FAS found that the company breached Part 5 Article 11 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” (Part 5 Article 14.32 of the Code on Administrative Violations).

Also, “Aquarius” Production Company” Ltd. and “Superwave Group” Ltd. concluded an anticompetitive agreement that resulted in maintaining prices at a reverse auction for supplying office equipment, network equipment (servers and server equipment, etc.), acquiring Hewlett Packard equipment, licences and services for installing and tuning equipment for “Nornickel – General Service Centre” Ltd., and participated in it (Clause 2 Part 1 Article 11 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”).

The proceedings against “KROK Incorporated” CJSC and “Superwave Group” Ltd. initiated upon signs of participating in the cartel at No. 0348100010516000017 electronic auction, “Craftway Corporation PLC” CJSC, “Lenovo (Eastern Europe / Asia)” Ltd., “HP Ink” Ltd. were terminated due t absence of an antimonopoly violation.

Deputy Head of FAS, Stats-Secretary Andrey Tsarikovsky commented: “We have studied carefully all case materials to make a balanced decision. There were many incidents and we endeavoured to drop out controversial issues at the stage of decision-making. I am confident that this is not the last case in a raw of investigations of bid-rigging cartels for supplying equipment for public needs”.

The case decision and materials will be forwarded to the Federal Security Service and the Federal Tax Service.