The Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totaling €10.5 million against seven road repair companies for engaging in illegal cartel agreements involving bid rigging and customer allocation. Prior to upcoming tenders, they agreed on which company would be awarded the contract. To ensure the desired outcome, the other companies often submitted protective bids with pre-agreed minimum amounts. The companies involved were AS Asphaltstraßensanierung GmbH, Langwedel, Bausion Strassenbau-Produkte GmbH, Landsberg, Bitunova GmbH, Krefeld, Gerhard Herbers GmbH, Spelle, Liesen … alles für den Bau GmbH, Lingen, Mainka Straßenunterhaltung, Rüdersdorf near Berlin, and MOT Müritzer Oberflächentechnik GmbH, Röbel/Müritz.
In 2018 and 2019, AS, Bausion, Herbers, and Bitunova allocated certain contracting authorities from Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt to each of the companies. They delineated each district in the three federal states to one or several bidders, outlining the allocation on a map. When tenders arose, the company assigned to the relevant district was intended to secure the contract.
Between 2016 and 2019, Bausion, Liesen, Mainka and MOT regularly colluded in public tenders in Brandenburg and (only in 2016 and 2017) Saxony-Anhalt, while Liesen and MOT also colluded in tenders in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. To this end, the companies maintained regular contact both in person and by telephone, and from 2017 also met regularly for breakfast at a hotel near Berlin.
As a result, Bundeskartellamt concluded that these companies coordinated to assign numerous public contracts for road repairs and renovations among themselves over an extended period and imposed fines totaling €10.5 million.
(The Bundeskartellamt – 13.05.2025)
NAZALI TAX & LEGAL