SOFIA, April 16, 2026 — Bulgaria’s Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has launched an investigation into a suspected cartel linked to several public procurement procedures financed through European Union funds, following a report from the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The case concerns contracts carried out under the Operational Programme “Regions in Growth” 2014–2020, which is being implemented during the 2021–2027 programming period. The authority will examine whether companies involved in the tenders engaged in prohibited agreements or coordinated practices in breach of Bulgarian competition law and Article 101 TFEU.
Third cartel probe this year
The investigation marks the third cartel case opened by the CPC since the beginning of 2026. Earlier probes concerned suspected collusion in public tenders for supplying food to hospitals and for the supply, installation and maintenance of IT equipment.
The procurement procedures under scrutiny relate to contracts for specialised training programmes, exchanges of experience and best practices aimed at strengthening administrative capacity in several municipalities.
Suspected bid rigging
During a preliminary review, the CPC analysed companies’ participation in multiple procurement procedures with similar contracting authorities, subjects and bidders. The investigation covered tenders organised by municipalities including Velingrad, Razgrad, Sevlievo, Gorna Oryahovitsa and Elena.
According to the authority, the initial analysis uncovered several indications of potential bid rigging, including evidence suggesting coordination among participants.
The regulator said many of the submitted bids contained very similar price offers, with proposals often submitted at nearly identical times through the country’s electronic procurement platform.
Investigators also found that the documents submitted by different bidders contained identical spelling and grammatical errors, the same wording and formatting, and similar textual structures, despite differences from the templates provided by the contracting authorities.
Data obtained from the Public Procurement Agency further indicated that some bids were submitted from the same IP address within the electronic procurement system.
Possible competition law violations
The CPC said these elements may indicate coordination between companies aimed at influencing the outcome of the tenders and predetermining the winning bidder, potentially violating both national and EU competition rules.
The authority has now formally opened proceedings to determine whether a prohibited agreement or concerted practice took place. Further details of the investigation have been published in the CPC’s official decision.
Source: https://www.cpc.bg/news-494
