Lívia Melo and Jéssica Ferreira
On June 7, CADE filed an administrative proceeding to investigate an alleged cartel in public bids made by Infraero. The anticompetitive agreements would have affected eight trade sessions for the concession of use of areas for commercial exploitation in airports.
This case stands out because it was initiated by a complaint from the same body supposedly conducting the public bid. This fact possibly reflects a greater amount of knowledge from the bidding agencies, concerning competitive legislation, as a consequence of CADE’s action in the fight against cartels in bids; although, this was not the first case initiated by a complaint from the bidding body.
In 2009, for example, Sabesp filed a complaint that motivated a cartel investigation in international bidding to execute the construction work of Lot 03 of Mambu/Branco Water Producer System of the Baixada Santista metropolitan region. The case resulted in the conviction of the companies Saenge and Onyx and some of their employees.