The Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines and liability amounts totalling around 4.8 million euros against 14 construction companies and 12 responsible persons for illegal bid rigging in award procedures for construction contracts.

The bid-rigging agreements concerned 42 contracts totalling 24 million euros awarded by Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (hereafter: HKM) between August 2011 and November 2016 (HKM proceedings), 122 contracts totalling 32 million euros awarded by ThyssenKrupp  Steel Europe AG (hereafter: TK) between March 2007 and February 2017 (TK proceedings) and 14 contracts totalling 4 million euros awarded by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH (hereafter: DEW) between 2014 and late 2016 (DEW proceedings).

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt : “ "For years the companies concerned maintained a system of mutually agreeing on who would be awarded which construction contract, to the detriment of the contracting entities. The agreements followed the same pattern in all three proceedings: First, the participating companies agreed in person or over the phone on who was to secure a particular contract. The company which was to get the contract then made its own calculations. The next step was to send these calculations to the other participating companies to make sure they would make higher sham offers to secure the contract for the agreed company.”".

The following companies were fined:

Bundeskartellamt Imposes €4.8 Million in Fines for Bid Rigging in Construction Sector

The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's Federal Cartel Office, has announced significant penalties totaling approximately €4.8 million against 14 construction firms and 12 individuals involved in illegal bid rigging activities. These actions were taken in response to collusive agreements that manipulated the award procedures for construction contracts.

 The bid-rigging schemes involved three major proceedings: the first concerning 42 contracts worth €24 million awarded by Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (HKM) from August 2011 to November 2016; the second involving 122 contracts totaling €32 million awarded by ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG (TK) between March 2007 and February 2017; and the third related to 14 contracts worth €4 million awarded by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH (DEW) from 2014 to late 2016.

 Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, emphasized the seriousness of the violations, stating that the companies had established a systematic approach to collude on contract awards, which ultimately harmed the contracting entities. The process involved direct agreements among the companies on who would win specific contracts, followed by the submission of inflated bids by other participants to ensure the designated company secured the contract.



Bundeskartellamt Imposes €4.8 Million in Fines for Bid Rigging in Construction Sector

The Bundeskartellamt has fined 14 construction companies and 12 individuals a total of €4.8 million for engaging in illegal bid rigging over several years.