MyCC fines three firms RM2.98m for bid-rigging

• The bid-rigging involved six tenders for maintenance works in Putrajaya, including amenity trees, main drains, gross pollutant traps and retention systems across various precincts.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 8): The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) has imposed a total penalty of RM2.98 million on three companies found to be involved in rigging tenders issued by Perbadanan Putrajaya.

Abadi Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Kota Lanskap Sdn Bhd and Usia Maintenance Sdn Bhd were found to have infringed Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010 in six tenders collectively worth RM44.85 million put out in 2018 and 2021, according to a statement from MyCC on Tuesday (July 8).

“This final decision marks another significant step in the commission’s continuous effort to uphold the principles of transparency, fairness and integrity in public procurement processes,” said MyCC chief executive officer Datuk Iskandar Ismail.

Abadi Malaysia was fined RM1.59 million, Kota Lanskap RM614,508 and Usia Maintenance RM774,555. The infringement findings followed a review of representations by the enterprises since a proposed decision issued on Sept 10, 2024.

Under the law also known as Act 712, MyCC is allowed to impose a financial penalty of up to 10% of an enterprise’s worldwide turnover.

Modus operandi

The bid-rigging involved six tenders for maintenance works in Putrajaya, including amenity trees, main drains, gross pollutant traps and retention systems across various precincts.

The bid-rigging scheme was coordinated by Abadi Malaysia. Investigations revealed that the companies involved shared information through WhatsApp, emails and meetings to coordinate their bids.

Tender documents were prepared by employees from different enterprises at a single location, under the direction of Abadi Malaysia through one of its directors. The same modus operandi was consistently used across all six projects.

Despite having no common shareholders, the three companies are linked through personal relationships, including siblings and close friends, Iskandar noted.

During a raid, MyCC discovered confidential documents belonging to multiple companies at the premises of Kota Lanskap, indicating centralised coordination among the enterprises involved in the tender submissions.

As a result of the bid-rigging arrangement, Usia Maintenance secured Tender 1 for the maintenance works for amenity trees in various precincts in Putrajaya worth RM8.9 million, while Abadi Malaysia won Tender 5 valued at RM5.92 million for landscaping maintenance at Kompleks Kejiranan.

Both companies were also found liable for cartel behaviour in the remaining four tenders. MyCC also said that Kota Lanskap exhibited the same cartel behaviour throughout the bidding process for all six tenders.

Iskandar said investigations were conducted following a complaint on the potential bid-rigging scheme involving building, landscaping and civil engineering projects in Putrajaya.

Nine enterprises were suspected of participating in the effort, though only three were found to have breached the competition law. The companies also admitted to their involvement in the scheme, he noted.

Other investigations

The commission also stated that it is currently investigating 14 bid-rigging cartels involving more than 500 enterprises, linked to tenders valued at over RM2.3 billion.

“We are still going through the processes of investigation. There's going to be a lot of work and challenges,” said Iskandar, urging members of the public and relevant stakeholders who encounter suspicious bidding behaviour to come forward and report the matter to MyCC.

Bid-rigging undermines trust in the market, wastes public resources and ultimately harms public interest, he said, stressing that the commission takes such wrongdoing “seriously and will continue to use all enforcement resources under the law to hold wrongdoers accountable”.

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