Jungermann publishes "Ongoing criminal investigations to combat bid-rigging in Germany may slow down the willingness to cooperate” in German PLATOW Brief

Sebastian Jungermann wrote “Ongoing criminal investigations to combat bid-rigging in Germany may slow down the willingness to cooperate,” (Zunehmende Verfolgung von Submissionsabsprachen kann Kooperationsbereitschaft beinträchtigen) for the German publication PLATOW Brief. Sebastian described recent investigations in high level bid-rigging cases such as the cartels regarding rail tracks, power transformers and fire-fighting vehicles, in which the German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) and the state prosecutors coordinated their enforcement activities. The most critical issue is that the German antitrust leniency rules do not cover criminal charges as well and the Bundeskartellamt does not have any power to honor leniency and cooperation efforts. This situation leads to two completely different proceedings and it is highly uncertain how state prosecutors and criminal judges will honor the cooperation of first in candidates and others who are willing to coordinate with both the Bundeskartellamt and the state prosecutor.