On the 14th of July 2021, officials of the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) carried out consecutive unannounced inspections, acting ex officio, at the premises of undertakings participating in public tenders for the construction of natural gas networks and relevant equipment and materials, regarding potential anti-competitive practices in the context of a bid-rigging investigation.

The unannounced inspections, which were carried out at the premises of undertakings in the Perfectures of Attica, Central Macedonia and Thessaly were part of the preliminary stage of an extensive investigation into anti-competitive practices, pursuant to the provisions of Greek Competition Law 3959/2011.

The fact that the HCC carries out inspections does not mean that the inspected undertakings have engaged in anti-competitive behaviour, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.

The HCC continues to step in, whenever its involvement is necessary, as the authority responsible for identifying potential violations of the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 of Greek Law 3959/2011 and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Facing the potential emergence of distortive phenomena, the HCC, the guardian of the proper functioning of free and competitive markets, takes on the pledge to prioritize, within the remit of its jurisdiction, every relevant case for which it is informed either through a complaint, an application for leniency, or other sources of providing secured digital information (whistleblowing) and it will impose severe administrative sanctions on undertakings which have adopted anti-competitive practices.