The Antimonopoly Committee has fined two construction companies for collusion during tenders in Mykolaiv region. Now they face suspension from participation in public procurement for up to three years.
This was reported by the press service of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.
The conspiracy was exposed between two construction companies - Gospodar-2 LLC and VBK Alpha LLC - during participation in public tenders in 2023-2024. The companies coordinated their actions to create only the appearance of competition in the bidding process, but in reality, they acted together to distort the procurement results.
The investigation began in December 2024 after suspicious schemes were detected during tenders held by the Syniukhino-Brid village council and the Mykolaiv Housing and Maintenance Department. It was about construction and repair work. Based on the analysis of the submitted documentation and the behavior of the participants, the AMCU collected a number of evidence indicating a preliminary collusion between the companies.
In the course of the proceedings, the Antimonopoly Committee found that Gospodar-2 and VBK Alfa did not compete with each other, but coordinated their actions at the stage of preparation for participation in the procurement. Such a conspiracy is a violation of Ukrainian law, in particular Article 50(1) and Article 6(2)(4) of the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Economic Competition". The document prohibits anticompetitive concerted actions that distort the results of tenders.
Both companies were fined UAH 272 thousand for such violations. Thus, the actions of Hospodar-2 LLC and VBK Alfa LLC have been officially recognized as illegal, and the results of the tenders in which they participated have been distorted due to collusion.
According to the press service, under the law on public procurement, a company may not be allowed to participate in a tender if it has already been punished for collusion during bidding in the last three years.
The Antimonopoly Committee also opened a case against Mykolaiv-based Antares-Bud. The company may face a fine for failing to provide the requested information in a timely manner. The company has been repeatedly involved in journalistic and criminal investigations.
Анна Бальчінос