CADE signs leniency agreement regarding bid rigging in Federal District public bids

The General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense – CADE signed, on 11 July, a leniency agreement with the company Construtora OAS S/A regarding an investigation of alleged bid rigging in the market for civil infrastructure works of urban mobility. The current and former executives of the company provided, to the General Superintendence, information and documents as evidence of cartel practices involving public bids under the management of the Federal District Government.

 The leniency agreement is an outcome of the “Car Wash Operation” and was signed between the company and CADE jointly with the Prosecution Service of the Federal District (MPDFT, in its acronym in Portuguese). Through the leniency agreement, the signatories involved in the scheme admitted their participation in the anticompetitive conduct and provided information and evidence in support of the investigation into the alleged cartel.

This is the tenth leniency agreement signed by CADE in the scope of the “Car Wash Operation”. CADE negotiated the leniency agreement with OAS over a fifteen-month period. The scope of this particular agreement covers only bid rigging. Currently, all the documents and information concerning the leniency agreement are confidential.

CADE's Leniency Agreements

According to the Law 12.529/2011, the leniency agreement has the purpose of obtaining information and documents that prove a cartel, as well as identifying the other participants in the conduct.

There are other nine leniency agreements signed with CADE within the scope of the “Car Wash Operation”. The previous agreements were signed with Setal/SOG and employees concerning the public bids in Petrobras’ onshore platforms; with the company Camargo Corrêa and employees in public bids regarding Angra 3 nuclear plant and the North-South and West-East Railroads; with Camargo Corrêa and its current and former employees in public bids regarding the implementation of the North-South railway and of the West-East integration railway; with Andrade Gutierrez and executives of the company; the first one regarding an alleged cartel in the public bids to build and operate the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant; the second agreement due to an alleged cartel in the public bid for engineering and construction works for the urban improvement of the Alemão, Manguinhos and Rocinha neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro; with Carioca Christiani Engenharia and its current and former executives regarding Petrobras’ headquarters; with Andrade Gutierrez its current and former executives regarding public bids for the construction of World Cup 2014 stadiums; with Andrade Gutierrez S/A and its current and former executives regarding an alleged bid rigging in public bids under the management of the Secretariat of State for the Environment of Rio de Janeiro for recovery works and environmental revitalization of lakes in urban areas and containment works and flood control of rivers, including engineering services, dredging, desorption and construction of dams and jetties; and with OAS and its current and former executives regarding an alleged bid rigging conducted by the Secretariat of State for Public Works of Rio de Janeiro for works of construction, maintenance and recovery of Arco Metropolitano of Rio de Janeiro highways.