NON-COMPLIANCE WITH COURT DECISION RESULTED IN FINE FOR COMPANY‘S MANAGER

The District Court of Vilnius imposed a fine of almost EUR 500 on V. M. for failure to leave the managerial position in a company that was involved in a cartel agreement.

V. M. was one of the three persons deprived of the managerial position in a public or private legal person for four years, as decided by Vilnius Regional Administrative Court in 2018 upon the request by the Lithuanian competition authority Konkurencijos taryba.

Having conducted the investigation, Konkurencijos taryba decided that the companies Baltic Transport Service, Convertus and Gedarta participated in bid rigging and thus imposed fines on them. Konkurencijos taryba found that the managers of the firms directly contributed to one of the serious competition law infringements through collusion in public procurement.

It has been the first time in the Lithuanian case law when the managers of companies were held personally liable by Vilnius Regional Administrative Court.

Since V. M. did not leave the managerial position in the company Dvi linijos (Baltic Transport Service is facing bankrupcy), the District Court of Vilnius imposed on him a fine of EUR 498.

The decision of the District Court of Vilnius entered into force.

The Law on Competition stipulates that for the involvement in a prohibited agreement concluded between competitors or in the abuse of a dominant position, the manager of an undertaking may be restricted of the right to be the manager of a public and (or) private legal person, or a member of the collegial supervisory and (or) governing body of a public and (or) private legal person for a period of three to five years. Additionally, a fine of up to almost EUR 14,500 may be imposed.