• Does the supply of hospital information systems violate the competition law?
• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has initiated an investigation into the matter, and UOKIK employees, with the consent of the court, have conducted searches at the premises of several IT companies.

UOKIK employees with the assistance of the Police have conducted searches at the offices of three entrepreneurs: Asseco Poland, Comarch Healthcare and Bestprojects. These measures are related to the investigation initiated by Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK. The information obtained by UOKiK indicates that the entrepreneurs might have concluded a bid-rigging agreement with other entities. The arrangement might have been related to tender procedures for the supply and implementation of IT systems used by the healthcare industry.

"We suspect that there may have been unlawful arrangements concerning market-sharing and bid-rigging. I have decided to initiate investigations and searches at the premises of entities that may be involved in competition-restricting practices. The offices have been searched after obtaining the consent of the court and with police assistance. We are currently analysing the material gathered, which has significant evidential value," says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

The investigation concerns the matter itself and is not directed against any particular entrepreneur. If the collected evidence confirms the suspicions, the President of UOKiK will initiate antitrust proceedings and present charges against particular entities. There is a penalty for participating in an agreement restricting competition of up to 10%  of the turnover of the company.

Severe sanctions can be avoided thanks to the leniency programme. It provides entrepreneurs participating in an unlawful agreement and managers responsible for collusion with an opportunity to avoid fines or have them reduced. This is an option available on the condition of cooperating with UOKiK as the "key witness" and providing evidence of, or information about, the existence of an unlawful agreement. Entrepreneurs and managers interested in the leniency programme are invited to contact the Office. At a dedicated telephone number 22 44 60 555, UOKiK lawyers answer all questions regarding leniency applications, including anonymous ones.

UOKiK also runs a programme aimed at acquiring information from anonymous whistleblowers. Please visit https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill in a simple form. The system used guarantees full anonymity, also towards the Office.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL