Sofia, January 8, 2026 —The Bulgarian authority has carried out unannounced on-site inspections at the offices of several companies as part of an investigation into a suspected cartel linked to public tenders for hospital food supplies.
The inspections were conducted by the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) with the assistance of specialised police units from the Interior Ministry, following judicial authorisation from the Sofia Regional Administrative Court.
Tender Manipulation Allegations
The probe concerns a suspected infringement of Article 15 of the Competition Act, involving a prohibited agreement aimed at manipulating public procurement procedures for the “preparation and delivery of ready-made food under various diets for hospital patients.”
The proceedings were launched after the authority received a complaint on October 2, 2025, from MP Vasil Pandov. The complaint raised concerns about possible bid-rigging by Master-Pik EAD, Balkan Meal EOOD, and Party Food AD in tenders for food deliveries to healthcare institutions.
Preliminary Findings
Given the potential public harm and serious social consequences — including risks to food quality and patients’ rights — the authority immediately opened a preliminary inquiry. This review examined all hospital food supply tenders conducted in Sofia between 2022 and 2025 in which the companies participated as competitors.
According to the authority, the initial analysis identified sufficient indications of prohibited coordination, notably market allocation, whereby tenders were allegedly won by the company “assigned” to a specific contracting authority. Investigators also identified the use of so-called cover bids, intended to create the appearance of competition and prevent tender cancellations due to a single valid offer.
Evidence Gathering
Evidence collected during the inspections — both direct and indirect — will be added to the case file. During the raids, authority officials exercised their powers to access, review and seize documents and records in any format, including digital data. Specialised forensic tools were used to recover, authenticate and analyse electronic information.
Source: https://www.cpc.bg/news-466
