FAS opened a case upon signs of bid-rigging at a tender for supplying means of communications

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) opened a case against “Urals Works” Financial-Industrial Group” Shareholding Company, Urals Radio Stations” Shareholding Company, “Komplekt” Ltd. and “TekhTorg” Ltd. upon elements of bid-rigging at tenders for supplying and repairing the means of communications for the needs of the Russian Ministry of Interior and the Federal Security Service under the frame of public defence procurement. The case was opened upon materials obtained by FAS in the course of unscheduled filed inspections.

Having analyzed the obtained information, FAS established that at the tenders the above economic entities imitated competition between themselves to get government contracts at the highest possible prices. Such conduct typically resulted in an insignificant reduction (0.5%) of the original contract price.

The antimonopoly body also established that cartel participants operated from the same address, using the same IP-address to file bids and price offers, and the same person prepared the bids for several participants to the agreement.

“Actions of the legal entities have elements of violating Clause 2 Part 1 Article 11 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” – concluding an anticompetitive agreement that led or could lead to increasing, reducing or maintaining prices at tenders”, pointed out the Head of FAS Department for Control and Inspection in Public Defence Procurement, Konstantin Alyoshin.