CADE fines bid rigging in BRL 2 million

On 20 August, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) convicted five companies and six individuals for bid rigging in public procurements and contracts of engineering services for the municipalities of Caraúbas and Patu, in addition to government bodies, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte. The imposed fines totalled over BRL 2 million. 

The case was launched after the Prosecution Services of the State of Rio Grande do Norte (MPE/RN) sent documents to CADE that provided evidence of bid rigging related to contracts of engineering services conducted from 2005 to 2012. 

According to the investigation, evidence from confiscated documents, email exchanges, and interception of phone calls, showed that the companies colluded to rig procurements, presenting cover bids, dividing construction lots, and manipulating prices.  

The evidence gathered in the Operation Sangria proved that the defendants rigged procurements organised by state and local governments, presented fake proposals, exchanged sensitive information, and participated in market division.  

In his vote, Commissioner Victor Oliveira Fernandes highlighted that a strong set of evidence shows that the violation resulted in financial losses for the Treasury, following the analysis made by Commissioner Luís Braido, rapporteur of the case. “The evidence obtained clearly demonstrates the collusion with documents, electronic conversations, and signatures that identify the conducts and define the authorship of the violation,” he stated.  

Thus, the Tribunal of CADE fined the companies Comercial Gurgel, FA Construções, F&A Construções e Empreendimentos, Seconh, as well as Terramaq in more than BRL 1.5 million, while six individuals are to pay more than BRL 370 thousand in fines.

Access Case no. 08700.002247/2015-70.