Office of the Superintendent General of CADE signs the 109th leniency agreement and launches administrative proceeding

On 28 February, the Office of the Superintendent General of CADE signed another leniency agreement within the Brazilian Competition Defence System, reaching 109 signed leniency agreements.

Based on the evidence the other signatory party provided, on 27 March, CADE’s investigative arm launched an administrative proceeding to examine an alleged cartel in public and private procurements for graphic printing services in the segments of security printing and integrated forms.

The obtained data allowed for the identification of at least seven companies and eight individuals that supposedly implemented strategies to restrain competition in several procurements.

The resulting administrative proceeding shows the effectiveness of CADE's Leniency Programme—one of the main tools to detect antitrust violations.

Upon launching the administrative proceeding, the authority is to notify defendants to make their appeals. Once the Office of the Superintendent General completes its investigation, it will give an opinion on the conviction or dismissal of the case. Subsequently, the investigative body will submit it to the Tribunal of CADE for granting a final decision.

In case of conviction, parties are subject to fines. For companies, applicable fines range from 0.1% to 20% of their revenue and may include other penalties. The authority grants total immunity related to the fines provided the signatory fulfils all leniency obligations by the end of proceedings.

Individuals involved are subject to fines ranging from BRL 50 thousand to BRL 2 billion, whilst those in management positions are punishable by 1% to 20% of the amount applied to the companies.

Access Case no. 08700.001405/2023-84.