Federal Cartel Office imposed fines of around 19.4 million euros in the ongoing year due to forbidden agreements. This is shown in the authority’s annual balance, which was published on Thursday.
The fines were directed against three companies and a natural person. The affected sectors were protective clothing, broadband devices, and construction services. In the year 2024, the office carried out a total of eleven search actions, of which three were in the form of official assistance. 17 companies have informed the office of new information about violations in their industry through whistleblower applications. According to the authority’s statements, the majority of the currently pending cartel fine proceedings are based on sources outside of the whistleblower program.
“Since 2019, we have imposed fines of a total of around 1.3 billion euros, despite a temporary Corona dip” said Federal Cartel Office head Andreas Mundt. “Several major cartel cases are ongoing and the number of searches remains at a high level.” To further enhance the discovery of cartels, the office plans to use more AI in the future, as Mundt said.