The Competition Council is currently examining whether Transgaz had a responsibility in organizing cartels that included companies that agreed upon tenders organized by the company, announced on Tuesday the president of the institution, Bogdan Chiriţoiu.

“It was a case, two years ago, in which we sanctioned companies that harmed Electrica, which formed cartels and increased the price of the equipment bought by Electrica. We found that Electrica employees were also involved in this behavior and then we also sanctioned the company, as a facilitator of the cartel. It must be said that, apparently, Electrica is harmed, because it pays a higher price, but being a regulated sector, the costs are passed on to the customers. We have a similar case at Transgaz, at the moment, in this regard, in which we found that several companies were involved in auctions organized by Transgaz. These agreements also involved Transgaz employees. It is important to mention that we are talking about the acts committed several years ago that do not involve the current management. This is the second time that we have sanctioned companies that have rigged the Transgaz auction. Now, what we have to analyze is whether Transgaz also had a responsibility in organizing these cartels, “said Chiriţoiu.

Last month, Transgaz stated, in a release quoted by Agerpres, that the Competition Council’s investigation into the contracts concluded by the company refers to award procedures that took place between 2009-2011 and, at present, all auctions are organized online, on the Electronic Public Procurement System – SICAP.