Commission on Protection of Competition Fines Company €14,747 for Obstructing Cartel Investigation

The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has imposed a financial penalty of €14,747.83 on a company for failing to cooperate during an on-site inspection carried out as part of an investigation into an alleged cartel involving public contracts for the supply, installation and maintenance of IT equipment.

The inspections were conducted in April by CPC teams with the assistance of the Ministry of Interior and under a court warrant. During the inspection of the sanctioned company's premises, email correspondence and messages from one chat application were deleted, while access to another chat application was interrupted.

According to the CPC, these actions obstructed the competition authority's investigative powers and constituted a failure to comply with the company's legal obligation to cooperate under the Protection of Competition Act. During on-site inspections, CPC officials are authorised to access, examine and seize documents and records related to a company's activities, regardless of the medium on which they are stored.

The fine is the maximum permitted by law, amounting to up to 1% of the company's turnover for the previous financial year. The decision is subject to appeal.