Brasília, December 10, 2025 — Brazilian CADE has launched an administrative proceeding to investigate alleged collusion in public tenders for road-engineering works across federal, regional, and local authorities between 2016 and 2024.
The case stems from data analysis under CADE’s Project Cérebro after a referral from the Federal Court of Accounts, which flagged suspicious bidding patterns involving tenders run by the national transport department and Codevasf. Findings later supported Operation Novo Rumo, a joint action by CADE, the federal comptroller, and the federal highway police in late 2024.
Alleged Conduct
Investigators say companies may have formed joint participation vehicles to coordinate bids, including cover bidding and proposal suppression, enabling subcontracting arrangements that benefited preselected winners. CADE opened the case against 16 companies and 15 individuals.
The authority noted that road-engineering contracts typically involve substantial public spending and estimates that tenders potentially affected between 2021 and 2024 alone totaled about BRL 10 billion.
Procedure and Penalties
Companies and individuals will now be able to submit defenses, seek evidence production, and name up to three witnesses each. If liability is established, companies face fines of up to 20% of gross revenue, while individuals may be fined between BRL 50,000 and BRL 2 billion.
