CADE signs agreement with construction company after cartel investigations

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) executed a cease and desist agreement with the company Carioca Christiani-Nielsen Engenharia S.A., after four administrative proceedings investigating anticompetitive practices in public procurements for infrastructure projects. The agreement covers every investigation involving it before the Office of the Superintendent General at CADE that had not been subject to negotiation.

The company acknowledged its involvement in the practices under investigation and is to pay a financial contribution of BRL 6,134,676.92 to the Fund for De Facto Joint Rights (FDD) in instalments adjusted according to the SELIC rate.

The execution of the agreement requires the company to withdraw any court actions and administrative challenges related to the facts under investigation and prevents it from filing new claims on the matter.

The company had previously executed agreements with CADE after investigations into public procurements for infrastructure projects and, so far, it has fulfilled all its obligations. Financial contributions totalled more than BRL 90 million.

Investigations

The four administrative proceedings investigate agreements between competitors to allegedly undermine competition in public procurements for infrastructure projects involving contracts related to metro systems, airports managed by the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero), the São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), and the National Department for Transport Infrastructure (DNIT).

After the cease and desist agreement, investigations regarding the signatory will be stayed until the final decision, according to the fulfilment with the agreed-upon obligations.

The ongoing investigations into the other parties are under the responsibility of the Office of the Superintendent General at CADE.

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