Romania's Transgaz seeks a lawyer to help it avoid major fine by competition body

Transgaz, the company that operates the natural gas transport system in Romania, wants to purchase consultancy, assistance and legal services, as it risks a fine from the Competition Council of about 4% of its turnover.

The company summoned an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (AGEA), on February 10, to give managers the approval for spending up to EUR 100,000 with such services, local Agerpres reported.

Transgaz informed its shareholders that, following an investigation initiated by the Competition Council upon the notification of the Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the report of the competition inspectors proposes to fine the company. The investigations spotted problematic procurement auctions carried by Transgaz in 2011, the company also said.

In 2012, the Competition Council found that four private companies colluded into submitting coordinated bids in two auctions organised by Transgaz Medias during 2009-2011, a regional subsidiary of Transgaz, and set fines in amount of EUR 5.6 million, according to a press release of the Competition Council. The bidding firms have used information received from Transgaz insiders, which helped them win the auction.

Transgaz had a turnover of RON 1.6 billion (EUR 337 mln) and a net profit margin of about 30% in 2018.

(Photo source: Pixabay.com)