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German Road Repair Firms Fined for Collusion and Bid Rigging

By  |  May 13, 2025
Germany

Germany’s top competition authority has imposed a multimillion-euro fine on seven road repair companies after uncovering coordinated efforts to manipulate public procurement processes. According to a statement issued today by the Bundeskartellamt, the companies were penalized a total of €10.5 million for engaging in anti-competitive practices, including bid rigging and the division of customers across several German states.

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    The penalized firms—AS Asphaltstraßensanierung, Bausion Strassenbau-Produkte, Bitunova, Gerhard Herbers, Liesen alles für den Bau, Mainka Straßenunterhaltung, and MOT Müritzer Oberflächentechnik—were found to have engaged in illicit agreements that restricted fair competition in public sector contracting for basic road maintenance services.

    Details of the Investigation

    The investigation began following suspicions of collusion, culminating in a coordinated dawn raid in September 2019. The raid was conducted jointly by the Bundeskartellamt, the Düsseldorf Public Prosecution Office, and North Rhine-Westphalia’s Criminal Police Office. Per a statement by the Bundeskartellamt, this operation led to the discovery of practices that violated both German competition law and section 298 of the German Criminal Code, which prohibits bid rigging.

    The contracts in question involved simple road maintenance tasks such as crack repairs, patching, and surface dressing, as well as the supply of bitumen emulsion and grit. The value of these contracts typically ranged between €40,000 and €200,000 and were issued by local and regional authorities.

    Organized Collusion Across States

    Between 2018 and 2019, four of the companies—AS Asphaltstraßensanierung, Bausion Strassenbau-Produkte, Bitunova, and Gerhard Herbers—were found to have pre-arranged the allocation of tenders in the states of Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt. According to a statement from the Bundeskartellamt, the companies established territorial boundaries and agreed on who would win upcoming tenders in those areas.

    To ensure the rigged outcomes, the companies not only pre-selected the winning bidders but also agreed on minimum pricing levels for protective or cover bids. Some of the arrangements were allegedly facilitated under the guise of forming bidding consortia, with code language and disguised communications used to conceal their coordination.

    Additional findings revealed that Bausion Strassenbau-Produkte, Liesen alles für den Bau, Mainka Straßenunterhaltung, and MOT Müritzer Oberflächentechnik had engaged in similar collusive activities on public tenders in Brandenburg between 2016 and 2019, and in Saxony-Anhalt between 2016 and 2017. The firms reportedly held regular discussions—sometimes over the phone, other times during hotel meetings—where they planned who would win specific tenders and coordinated bid prices.

    Source: ICLG