Perm Regional Territorial Center for Disaster Medicine

History

2023: FAS revealed a cartel worth 91.5 million rubles in the purchase of vehicles for the center of disaster medicine in the Perm Territory

On August 30, 2023, the Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (OFAS) for the Perm Territory announced the identification of a cartel conspiracy in the execution of the national project "Healthcare."

The agency established that in 2021 and 2022. during purchases for the supply of vehicles for the Perm Regional Territorial Center for Disaster Medicine and the Administration of Roads and Transport, two participants entered into a cartel agreement. Alfa-Garant and Gruzavtoimport, according to the regulator, tried to support auction prices in order to increase their profits. The amount of illegally concluded contracts amounted to about 91.5 million rubles.

FAS revealed a cartel worth 91.5 million rubles when purchasing vehicles for the center of disaster medicine in the Perm Territory

OFAS considered that companies are affiliated and use a single technical infrastructure to submit bids. The agency sent materials to law enforcement agencies for a procedural check under Art. 178 of the Criminal Code ("Restriction of competition"). The maximum punishment under this article is up to three years in prison.

The managing partner of the law firm Enterprise Legal Solutions, Yuri Fedyukin, in a conversation with Kommersant, suggested that the OFAS revealed a large amount of evidence referring to cartel conspiracy, and the likelihood of subsequent proceedings is high. According to him, the guilty persons may face liability in the form of a large fine - each participant in the conspiracy is usually assigned a revolving fine from the annual proceeds during the violation period. According to Mr. Fedyukin, criminal prosecution under the specified OFAS Art. 178 of the Criminal Code.

Thus, cartel participants can incur both administrative and criminal liability. In most cases, these are precisely fines, as a rule, in the amount of 300 to 500 thousand rubles... The consequences for those responsible for carrying out such illegal actions during procurement procedures are highly likely to be, says Fedyukin.[1]

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