• The companies such as Euro-net and Jura Poland have deleted evidence that may have shown prohibited price fixing procedure of Jura coffee machines.
• Thus, they obstructed searches conducted as part of the preliminary investigation.
• President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny, has imposed fines totalling PLN 11 million on the entrepreneurs.

The President of UOKiK may, in special cases, conduct unannounced searches at the premises of entrepreneurs. This is a tool used in situations where an entity is suspected of having evidence of competition-restrictive practices that may be relevant to the case. Searches may be conducted only after obtaining a court approval. The entrepreneur is then obliged to allow the Authority’s employees to enter the buildings and premises as well as to provide access to all documents, telephones used for business purposes and other data carriers. At the end of November 2022, UOKiK employees, under the permission of the court and assisted by the Police, searched the offices of several companies, as part of a preliminary investigation concerning suspected prohibited price fixing of Jura coffee machines. In two cases, namely: Jura Poland and Euro-net, there was an obstruction of the search.

- The companies: Jura Poland and Euro-net similarly obstructed our operations. Employees of these companies, upon learning that the search had begun, deleted messages from the instant messaging devices installed on their phones used for business purposes. This could have obstructed collecting evidence of a prohibited agreement resulting in the fact that buyers of Jura coffee machines could pay more for the products. That’s why I have imposed the fines totalling PLN 11 million on the companies - says President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny.

Euro-net and Jura Poland

As soon as UOKiK initiated a search at Euro-net, its employee deleted content from a phone used for business purposes. These involved conversations with Jura Poland representatives conducted on WhatsApp messenger. A similar situation occurred at Jura Poland. UOKiK employees found that one sales manager deleted all conversations from WhatsApp. This occurred after they had already received information about the start of the search. In the course of subsequent actions, the employee admitted that he had deleted conversations about Jura products.

Fines

For obstructing the search, the President of UOKiK has imposed fines of PLN 10 million on Euro-net and PLN 1 million on Jura Poland. Decisions are not final and can be appealed to the court. According to the regulations in effect on the day the investigations were initiated, the penalty for obstructing a search was up to the equivalent of EUR 50 million. In determining the amount of fines, the President of UOKiK took into account, among other things, the circumstances of the violation, as well as their impact on the course and timing of the investigation.

After the change in the laws, the fine can be up to 3% of an entrepreneur’s turnover in the case of currently initiated investigation.

Coffee machine price fixing investigation

The case of price fixing of Jura brand coffee machines is ongoing and is currently under preliminary investigation. This means that it is conducted in a case and not against specific entrepreneurs. If the evidence collected confirms the suspicions, the President of the Authority will initiate antitrust proceedings and bring charges against individual entities. An enterprise involved in a competition-restricting agreement faces a fine of up to 10% of its turnover. The managers responsible for concluding the collusion, in turn, face a fine of up to PLN 2 million.

Severe sanctions can be avoided by taking advantage of the leniency scheme. It offers to entrepreneurs involved in an illegal agreement and to managers responsible for collusion an opportunity to reduce a fine or, in some cases, avoid it altogether. It is applicable to those who agree to cooperate with the President of UOKiK as a “crown witness” and provide evidence or information on the illegal agreement. We encourage the parties interested in the leniency scheme to contact the Authority. By calling a dedicated number: 22 55 60 555, you will be able to talk to UOKiK lawyers, who will answer all of your questions related to leniency applications - including those asked anonymously.

We also remind you that we conduct a programme to obtain information from anonymous whistleblowers. Do you wish to inform UOKiK about competition restricting practices? Visit konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form. The pan-European system we rely on ensures full anonymity, also towards the Office itself.

Additional information for the media:

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