Cartel on Romania dialysis market: fines of 1.5 million euro for three companies

Luni, 10 martie 2008, 17:58 English | Business

Romania's competition council fined Fresenius Medical Care Romania, Alsifcom Intermed and Opremi Medfarm with 1.5 million euro for concluding a deal among them to submit fake offers at tenders organized by the Health Ministry for the nefrology-dialysis program, a press release of the institution shows. Moreover, the council found that the Health Ministry breached the law because, during 2004-2006 it did not organize public tenders for the Dialysis National Program annually.

The Romanian authority found out that the three companies have sealed an agreement affecting the interests of the state and the consumers. Last week, the Competition Council fined a cartel on the insulin market with almost 22.6 million euro.

Alexe Gavrila, vice-president of the Competition Council, has told HotNews.ro that the only sanction for the Health Ministry as a public institution is to force it to apply the law by organizing tenders on a yearly basis.