Malaschofsky has to pay a fine of 98,000 euros

The next punishment has been handed down in the long-running proceedings surrounding a nationwide construction cartel. At the request of the Federal Competition Authority (BWB), the cartel court has imposed a fine of 98,000 euros on the Lower Austrian construction company Franz Malaschofsky. The reason is the “participation in a uniform and continued infringement as a secondary party in Lower Austria,” said the BWB on Friday. The decision is legally binding.

Malaschofsky therefore took part in price fixing or price coordination, market division and information exchange with competitors in relation to public and private tenders in the civil engineering sector in Lower Austria that violated antitrust law. The construction company cooperated outside of the leniency program to provide complete information and gave a comprehensive acknowledgment of the proceedings before the cartel court. “The BWB therefore requested a reduced fine,” the authority explained.

Price agreements and market divisions in the field of road construction

The cartel is primarily about price agreements and market division in the field of road construction throughout Germany. Both public and private clients are affected. “There are a large number of construction projects and the investigations by the Federal Competition Authority are still ongoing. In some cases, the procedures have already been legally concluded,” the BWB took stock of the situation on Friday.

The investigations began in 2017 with several house searches. The BWB is still investigating the majority of the companies involved. “These involve thousands of construction projects,” the authority said in an update. There are therefore several key witnesses in the antitrust proceedings.

Legal penalties against Strabag, Porr, Habau, Swietelsky

Some of the construction companies are large corporations against which antitrust proceedings have already been legally concluded. Strabag had to pay 45 million euros and Porr 62 million euros. Habau incurred 26 million euros and Swietelsky 27 million euros. In total it was 193 million euros, the BWB reported on Friday.

According to the antitrust law, actions that hinder or distort competition are prohibited. If a violation is found, the cartel court can, at the request of the BWB, impose fines of up to ten percent of the total turnover achieved in the previous financial year.