Skanska and Eurovia must pay half-billion fines by August
Brno - Skanska and Eurovia will have to pay fines of approximately half a billion crowns for participating in a large cartel of construction companies by early August at the latest. The Regional Court in Brno denied their complaints against the decision of the antitrust office a suspensive effect. This was stated to ČTK by court spokesperson Simona Tesařová. Similarly, the company M-Silnice previously faced the same outcome and must pay 46.1 million crowns. In total, the ÚOHS imposed fines on construction companies amounting to 1.66 billion crowns, with a payment deadline of 180 days set in February.
Eurovia will pay the fine. "As we are not aware of any illegal actions on our part, we have filed a lawsuit with the regional court, which also included a request for a suspensive effect. The court did not grant this. We respect the decision and will pay the amount in question. However, the court will further address the case later," said Eurovia spokesperson Iveta Štočková to ČTK. Skanska also respects the court's decision. According to its spokesperson Ondřej Svatoň, the amount will be paid by the imposed deadline. "However, our position on the case remains unchanged. We still consider it unfounded and will utilize all available legal means to protect our company. We believe that the decision not to grant a suspensive effect will have no impact on the final decision of the court," stated Svatoň.
All seven fined companies have turned to the court. The only one that succeeded with its request for a suspensive effect was Lesostavby Třeboň. However, it is a minor player in the cartel and only has to pay 4.2 million. The remaining three companies, such as Strabag, Swietelsky, and Berger Bohemia, have not yet requested a suspensive effect.
The fine from the ÚOHS is the highest that the office has ever definitively imposed. The companies coordinated their participation and bids in tenders for the construction of the R4 road segment between Mirotice and Třebkov (except for Lesostavby), as well as for the reconstruction of the site at Bakalářích in Písek (only Strabag and Lesostavby) and during the reconstruction of Jeronýmova Street in Třeboň (only Strabag and Lesostavby). The information about the cartel was obtained by the ÚOHS during 12 unannounced inspections over two years.
"The seized evidence indicates that cartel participants negotiated and prepared so-called cover bids for the mentioned public contracts, some of which were intentionally incomplete and others overvalued. In this way, the cartel participants completely eliminated competition in the tenders and the company predetermined by the cartel won," previously stated the chairman of the ÚOHS, Petr Rafaj.
The highest fine was imposed by the ÚOHS on Skanska (529.9 million CZK). Strabag (497.6 million CZK) and Eurovia (492.6 million CZK) also received fines close to half a billion. Other fines are lower. Swietelsky must pay 76.2 million crowns, M-Silnice 46.1 million CZK, Berger Bohemia 13.5 million, and Lesostavby Třeboň 4.2 million.
Eurovia will pay the fine. "As we are not aware of any illegal actions on our part, we have filed a lawsuit with the regional court, which also included a request for a suspensive effect. The court did not grant this. We respect the decision and will pay the amount in question. However, the court will further address the case later," said Eurovia spokesperson Iveta Štočková to ČTK. Skanska also respects the court's decision. According to its spokesperson Ondřej Svatoň, the amount will be paid by the imposed deadline. "However, our position on the case remains unchanged. We still consider it unfounded and will utilize all available legal means to protect our company. We believe that the decision not to grant a suspensive effect will have no impact on the final decision of the court," stated Svatoň.
All seven fined companies have turned to the court. The only one that succeeded with its request for a suspensive effect was Lesostavby Třeboň. However, it is a minor player in the cartel and only has to pay 4.2 million. The remaining three companies, such as Strabag, Swietelsky, and Berger Bohemia, have not yet requested a suspensive effect.
The fine from the ÚOHS is the highest that the office has ever definitively imposed. The companies coordinated their participation and bids in tenders for the construction of the R4 road segment between Mirotice and Třebkov (except for Lesostavby), as well as for the reconstruction of the site at Bakalářích in Písek (only Strabag and Lesostavby) and during the reconstruction of Jeronýmova Street in Třeboň (only Strabag and Lesostavby). The information about the cartel was obtained by the ÚOHS during 12 unannounced inspections over two years.
"The seized evidence indicates that cartel participants negotiated and prepared so-called cover bids for the mentioned public contracts, some of which were intentionally incomplete and others overvalued. In this way, the cartel participants completely eliminated competition in the tenders and the company predetermined by the cartel won," previously stated the chairman of the ÚOHS, Petr Rafaj.
The highest fine was imposed by the ÚOHS on Skanska (529.9 million CZK). Strabag (497.6 million CZK) and Eurovia (492.6 million CZK) also received fines close to half a billion. Other fines are lower. Swietelsky must pay 76.2 million crowns, M-Silnice 46.1 million CZK, Berger Bohemia 13.5 million, and Lesostavby Třeboň 4.2 million.
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