Spain: The Spanish Competition Authority fines several consulting companies for colluding in local public tenders and imposes surprisingly low fines (Consultoras)

The Spanish Competition Authority [“CNMC”] has fined 22 consulting services firms and several of their executives for implementing two cartels through two separate collaborative networks, between 2008 and 2018. The CNMC has also initiated proceedings to exclude most of these firms from taking part in future public tenders (CNMC, Decision of 11 May 2021, case S/DC/0627/18 CONSULTORAS). The case stems from a preliminary investigation carried out by the Basque Competition Authority which, after conducting a series of dawn raids in January 2017, and finding that the scope of the infringement exceeded the Basque Country, referred the case to the CNMC. In October 2018, the CNMC conducted additional dawn raids at the premises of several other firms in view of presumed agreements to allocate