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South Korea: Construction bid-riggers fined millions

 |  June 23, 2014

Six South Korean construction firms have reportedly been fined millions of dollars by national competition regulators for bid-rigging.

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission announced Monday that a total of $10.4 million has been fined to various companies including GS Engineering and Construction, Halla Energy and Environment, and Daeqoo Engineering and Construction. Reports say the KFTC sanctioned the firms after uncovering evidence that the firms colluded to rig the bidding process for two clean center construction projects. The bidding began May 2009 by a state-run developer, reports say.

Half of the companies fined agreed to bid on one of those projects, while the other three bid on the other project, regulators say. The firms also allegedly manipulated the bidding process by submitting fake bids of poor designs and high costs to aid another company’s chances.

GS Engineering and Construction was fined the most out of the six companies, reports say.

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