Bonn/Dortmund (dpa/lnw) - Four Dortmund construction companies have to pay fines totaling almost one million euros for illegal agreements on the award of road construction work. The Federal Cartel Office announced a corresponding decision on Wednesday in Bonn. Several hundred tenders from the city of Dortmund for road construction work from 2012 to 2018 with an order volume of around 18 million euros were affected by the agreements, said the head of the authority, Andreas Mundt. "The contractors gave each other the orders."
At personal meetings, which were given the code name "Meetings in Africa" because of one of the participants' passion for travel, the entrepreneurs determined who should be awarded the contract in a tender - the others then deliberately submitted worse offers. A fifth company that was also involved does not have to pay a fine because it acted as a key witness - it was this company that got the ball rolling and uncovered the cartel. The Cartel Office reached an amicable termination of the proceedings with all five companies, and the fines are therefore final.
