Colombia: SIC reveals cartel in public works in Bucaramanga

The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Colombia has filed charges against four companies, as well as seven individuals, over alleged infringements of the country´s competition law in 14 public bidding processes carried out by the Municipality of Bucaramanga.

“The evidence in the file indicates that the collusion under investigation would have involved the implementation of a strategy to act in a coordinated manner in all stages of the bidding process in order to increase the likelihood that any one of the companies would be awarded the corresponding contracts,” the entity said.

Actions by the SIC were prompted by two complaints filed by the mayor of Bucaramanga. Based on this information, the Elite Anti Collusions Group at the SIC carried out an investigation that allowed for the detection of collusive agreements affecting up to 14 bidding processes.