CADE convicts cartel for bid rigging in Infraero

On 11 December, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) convicted 6 companies and 6 individuals for bid rigging, conducted by the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero). The fines imposed totalled more than BRL 6.9 million.

In June 2019, the Office of the Superintendent General at CADE (SG) launched an administrative proceeding to investigate bid rigging from 2012 to 2014, based on information sent by Infraero.

The practices included commercial exploitation of coffee shops, pharmacies, drugstores, and restaurants, resulting in harm to competition and the public administration.

According to the investigation, companies and individuals involved arranged proposals in procurements, directly affecting prices and contracting conditions. The anticompetitive conduct lead to the termination of procurements and forced Infraero to carry out new proceedings, imposing additional costs.

 The rapporteur of the case, Commissioner Camila Pires Alves, highlighted that cartels are major antitrust violations. “The severity of these violations is undeniable, since cartels are the most serious antitrust violations. Thus, the good faith of the wrongdoer should not be considered in this case. Regarding the cartel, it was a fully consummated action that caused a high level of harm to competition”, she stated.

Companies convicted are to pay fines amounted to more than BRL 5.47 million, while fines imposed to the individuals surpass BRL 1.43 million.