The chairman of the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition (ÚOHS) Petr Mlsna confirmed the decision on a cartel of freight railway carriers in the Carpathia project. He also confirmed the fines of CZK 8.4 million (approx. EUR 321 mln) for three participants in the cartel, the highest fine of CZK 10 million for Argo Logistics must be re-examined by the Office. The decision is final.
“In this case, it was a so-called hardcore restriction of competition. These cartels, by their very nature, always have a detrimental effect on competition and are the most serious threat to the healthy functioning of competition,” Mlsna said.
The Office found that AWT Čechofracht, Interfracht, Argo Logistics, Spedica and Rail Cargo Austria, in connection with the Carpathia, Sylvania and new Carpathia train projects, shared customers and freight contracts, coordinated the prices of these services and exchanged sensitive business information.
The participants in the cartel had a cooperation agreement between 2004 and 2013, according to which they were not to take over contracts from each other. Therefore, they also set up a reservation system, where they informed each other about orders and shared them.
Three of the companies cooperated with the Authority in uncovering the cartel. Rail Cargo Austria escaped without penalty by providing the Authority with information and evidence of the cartel’s existence in the so-called leniency program. AWT Čechofracht also used the leniency program together with the so-called settlement, cooperating with the Office and the fine was therefore significantly reduced to CZK 1.83 million. The settlement procedure was also used by Spedica, which pleaded guilty and its fine fell by 20 percent to CZK 4.24 million.
Interfracht received a fine of CZK 2.4 million, filed an appeal against it, but Mlsna upheld it in the second instance.
Source:CTK
