Bundeskartellamt punishes more agreements between rail manufacturers

Today the Bundeskartellamt has imposed further fines amounting to 97.64 million euros on eight companies involved in the rail cartel case.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “This second part of the rail cartel proceedings was not about agreements to the detriment of Deutsche Bahn. The fines imposed today are directed at price and customer protection agreements which have harmed local public transport companies, private, regional and industrial railways as well as construction companies. The aim of the agreements was to divide up tenders or projects among the members of the cartel. On account of the cartel, which had been in place for many years, the long-standing customer relationships and knowledge about customer preferences, it was often clear from the start to all the participating companies who was to be given the award. The cartel existed between 2001 and 2011 and covered the product areas rails, switches and sleepers."

Fines were imposed on ThyssenKrupp GfT Gleistechnik GmbH, Essen, (88 million euros), voestalpine BWG GmbH, Butzbach, (6.4 million euros), and Schreck-Mieves GmbH, Braunschweig (2.0 million euros). The companies Holz-Fehlings Gleistechnik und Entsorgung GmbH, Marl-Sinsen, Fehlings Narosch Gleistechnik und Entsorgung GmbH, Munich, Künstler Bahntechnik GmbH, Holzwickede, Heinrich Krug GmbH & Co. KG, Dortmund, and Betzler Eisenbahntechnik GmbH, Aalen, received orders imposing fines totalling 1.24 million euros. Investigations against another company are still ongoing.

The company which was meant to receive the award was in some cases referred to in the award proceedings as the "game leader" or "leader". The "leader" would then assume the role of organiser and coordinator in implementing the agreement. For example, it was its duty to tell the other companies which prices they should communicate to their customers in fake bids (so-called cover quotes).

Nearly all the companies mentioned cooperated with the Bundeskartellamt in the course of the proceedings within the scope of its leniency programme. In calculating the fines based on its new fining guidelines, the Bundeskartellamt took into account the cooperation of the companies, the respective duration of their cartel involvement and their willingness to terminate the proceedings by settlement. The rail cartel proceedings were initially triggered by an application for leniency filed in 2011 by the Austrian company voestalpine.

The Bundeskartellamt recently concluded the part of the proceedings concerning agreements to the detriment of Deutsche Bahn. Here it imposed fines totalling 134.5 million euros on the companies ThyssenKrupp, voestalpine, Vossloh and Moravia Steel (cf. press release of 05.07.2012 and 11.07.2013). This brings the amount of fines imposed so far in the rail cartel case to 232.14 million euros.

In these proceedings the Bundeskartellamt is cooperating closely with the public prosecutor's office and criminal investigation department in Bochum since they relate to cartels concerning publicly tendered products and services. The public prosecutor's office is investigating the natural persons involved on suspicion of collusive tendering.
All the companies involved agreed to have the proceedings terminated by settlement. The fines imposed today are not yet final and can be appealed to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.