CADE and Prosecution Services of Minas Gerais investigate alleged bid rigging

On 21 May, the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) and the Prosecution Services of the State of Minas Gerais (MPMG) launched the search and seizure operation Apate to investigate an alleged cartel in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, related to public procurements, including bid rigging for the provision of public transportation in the city of Juiz de Fora.

The 22nd Prosecution Services of Juiz de Fora and the Office of the Superintendent General at CADE issued the order following an investigation initiated with evidence provided by the Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Accounts of the state of Minas Gerais (MPC-MG) on the cities of Betim, Belo Horizonte, Divinópolis, Governador Valadares, Contagem, Poços de Caldas, and Juiz de Fora.

The warrants are being executed in Juiz de Fora, Belo Horizonte, Viçosa, Ervália, and Paracatu, in the state of Minas Gerais, as well as in Três Rios, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. There are about 35 professionals at CADE who are directly working in the case, in addition to 15 agents of the Grupo de  Atuação Especial de Combate ao Crime Organizado (GAECO/MPMG) - a group that fights organised crime - 4 civil servants of the MPMG, 20 officers of the investigative police of Minas Gerais, and 8 civil servants of the GAECO/MPRJ.

Following the discovery phase, the Office of the Superintendent General at CADE will issue a technical opinion and forward the case to the Tribunal of CADE for adjudication. The Tribunal may decide either for the dismissal of the case or a guilty verdict, which will subject the defendants to fines ranging from 0.1% to 20% of the gross turnover of the company, group, or conglomerate, obtained in the year prior to the launch of the administrative proceeding, in the field of activity in which the violation took place. Individuals may be subject to fines ranging from BRL 50 thousand to BRL 2 billion.

The Prosecution Services will present the evidence obtained to the State Court of Minas Gerais.