CADE celebrates the Brazilian Day for the Fight Against Cartels

On 8 October, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) celebrates the Brazilian Day for the Fight Against Cartels. The date aims to raise awareness on the harm caused by anticompetitive practices and to reinforce the importance of fair competition in the Brazilian market.

Cartels are illegal associations among companies to apply price-fixing, restrict production or create market segmentation causing significant damage to consumers and the economy as a whole. According to Law 12529/2011, cartel practices are considered a serious infraction, subject to severe fines.

CADE fights against these infractions intensively, investigating and applying fines to the companies involved. The agency launched 12 administrative proceedings between January and July 2024.

Felipe Roquete, Coordinator General in the Antitrust Analysis Unit 5 (CGAA5), mentioned that the date is a moment to reflect on the importance of a competitive market and the negative impacts of cartel practices in the economy. “Cartel fighting is a joint commitment among the government, the companies, and the consumers”, he said.

According to Mr Roquete, this date represents an opportunity to talk to a wider public, to disseminate information about what is done to identify, investigate, and punish cartels, as well as the results the agency has achieved. “By knowing what is done, how it is done, and which results have been achieved, the public can recognize the relevance of the work that CADE performs,” he stated.

CADE signs technical agreements with various regulatory agencies, facilitating the exchange of information and working cases in coordination, preserving the powers delegated to each body. Recently, CADE established partnerships with the Comptroller General of Santa Catarina (CGE/SC), the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), the Brazilian Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), and the Prosecution Services of the Brazilian State of Rio de Janeiro (MP-RJ).

Furthermore, the agency participates in several international forums, exchanging experiences to develop methods and proceedings to fight cartels, and exchange information on cases and markets prone to antitrust practices.

Support

Since 2015, CADE has developed a crucial tool for cartel fighting, the Cerebro Project, which employs data mining, statistical tests, and algorithms to detect any signs that firms are working in coordination.

CADE’s Leniency Programme is globally renowned, and allows cartel members (organisations or individuals) or participant parties of any other anticompetitive behaviour to report antitrust violations to the authority and cooperate with the investigations. In exchange, they may get immunity in the administrative and criminal fields or have the applicable penalties reduced.

On 8 October 2003, CADE signed the first leniency agreement, during a proceeding that investigated bid-rigging in the private security services in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Since then, it became an essential instrument for investigations in the agency. CADE has already signed 113 leniency agreements.