Bulgarian competition regulator investigations

The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has conducted investigations into various cartels involving public procurement.

In one instance, the CPC uncovered a cartel related to construction and mining machinery. Between 2022 and early 2024, companies O-Rent EOOD and the combined entity of Inzhkons EOOD/Zemekop EOOD coordinated their participation in 11 public tenders. The regulator found that the firms manipulated the bidding process by exchanging sensitive information and coordinating prices through meetings and electronic messages. This case marked the first time the CPC utilized the settlement mechanism under Article 74a of the Competition Protection Act.

In a separate matter regarding IT equipment procurement, the CPC imposed a fine of approximately €14,748 on a company for obstructing a cartel investigation. During an April inspection, investigators faced obstacles such as the deletion of email correspondence and chat messages. The commission determined the firm violated its duty to assist under the Competition Protection Act.

More recently, the CPC identified a cartel involving three companies participating in a Veliko Tarnovo Municipality tender for the design, construction, and supervision of a pedestrian overpass. The project was funded by the ‘Regions in Growth’ 2014–2020 operational program. The investigation targeted Skorpion Investstroy EOOD, Planex EOOD, and El Stroy Engineering - 2015 OOD (the latter two acting as the ‘Nadlez - Magistralna’ consortium). Evidence included identical technical proposals, similar project visualizations, and metadata showing that final document changes for both participants were made by the same user. The CPC concluded that Skorpion Investstroy EOOD submitted a cover bid to create a false impression of competition.