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keystone-sda.ch
![Patrik Ducrey, director of the WEKO competition commission, had to deal with Graubünden construction cartel scandals several times.]()
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Patrik Ducrey, director of the WEKO competition commission, had to deal with Graubünden construction cartel scandals several times.
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Keystone
![Whistleblower Adam Quadroni set the Graubünden building scandal rolling.]()
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Whistleblower Adam Quadroni set the Graubünden building scandal rolling.
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Keystone
![In April 2018, the WEKO competition commission paid seven construction companies in the Lower Engadine a total of CHF 7.5 million for cartel agreements.]()
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In April 2018, the WEKO competition commission paid seven construction companies in the Lower Engadine a total of CHF 7.5 million for cartel agreements.
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Construction association Graubünden
![Not free from irony: the poster advertising campaign of the Graubünden building association.]()
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Not free from irony: the poster advertising campaign of the Graubünden building association.
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There were indications for agreements between several companies when awarding offers for construction projects (in the technical jargon called submission agreements), the Weko announced on Friday in a communiqué. In such agreements, the offerers would typically coordinate their offers with the aim of awarding the contract to a company at a certain price.
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The competition commission received relevant information from the canton of Graubünden and carried out house searches. The raids have taken place in the past few days, said Weko director Patrik Ducrey. As part of the investigation, it should be examined whether there are actually restrictions on competition that are not permitted under antitrust law.
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Graubünden construction companies constantly in their sights
The names of the construction companies have not yet been released because they do not yet know who is really involved in the case and who is not, said Ducrey. The names would be published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce in two to three weeks. The Weko director was unable to provide information on the scope and duration of the procedure. As part of the investigation, it should be examined whether there are actually restrictions on competition that are not permitted under antitrust law.
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Graubünden construction companies are notoriously in the sights of Weko. The cartel guards have already carried out ten investigations into submission agreements in the canton of Graubünden. It was not until the end of May that the largest Swiss construction company, Implenia, paid the Canton of Graubünden a comparison of 1 million Swiss francs for illegal price fixing on the construction site.
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Files fill millions of pages
Overall, the settlement payments from several construction companies with the Canton of Graubünden totaled CHF 9 million after the Implenia agreement was concluded. Investigations by the competition commission revealed the cartel violations between 2004 and 2012. In the summer of last year, comparisons were made with nine road construction companies with a compensation sum of CHF 6 million. Previously, in spring 2019, the government had reached an agreement with five Engadine builders on the payment of CHF 2 million.
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After completing the investigations, Weko had fined several companies with a total of CHF 11 million. 40 companies were involved in agreements on 1160 construction projects. According to Weko, the files on the investigations comprise millions of pages. (SDA / buo)
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