Andrey Tenishev took part in parliamentary hearings

The representative of the antimonopoly body talked about cartels exposed in the social catering sector. The total value of the tenders conducted with violations exceeded 5 billion RUB

Andrey Tenishev, Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department took part in the parliamentary hearings “On legal and organizational aspects of providing healthy nutrition to pre-school and school children in the Russian Federation”.

Annual sums of public procurement of food to day-care centres and secondary schools are around 700 billion RUB. In 2017 FAS exposed bid-rigging cartels for providing nutrition to social  institutions in Astrakhan, Vologda, Kaluga, Moscow, Orenburg, Tula and Ulyanovsk regions, the Republic of Adygeya, Kabardino-Balkaria, Komi, Tatarstan, and Moscow. Total unlawful income of the cartels was over 5 billion RUB. FAS instructed its 26 regional bodies to carry out inspections to expose bid-rigging cartels for procurement of food products for day-care centres and secondary schools.

‘FAS is concerned with cartelization of procurement and abuses in the course of tenders for children nutrition. Companies participate in such tenders and do not compete with each other neither on price, nor on quality. As a result, those who were able to reach arrangements win rather than those who are better and do bona fide business. Bid-rigging cartels are punishable by fines up to 50% of the initial (maximum) contract price for each cartel participant regardless of whether this particular entity won the tender. Corporate executives involved in the cartel may be held criminally liable and imprisoned for up to 7 years”, said Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Departmen Andrey Tenishev.