The Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community has confirmed the fine imposed by the Commission for the Defense of Competition on the production company Comunicacions dels Ports, whose manager is Francis Puig [brother of the president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig], understanding that he acted like a cartel in a public tender.
The Court has confirmed the fine of 16,801.7 euros imposed in 2020 upon detecting that the company had competed together with three other companies in the same sector with offers that were practically identical to a tender for the service of audiovisual resources of the Sociedad Anónima de Medios of Communication of the Valencian Community.
The Fourth Section of the Contentious Chamber understands in its resolution, which can be appealed, that in this case there has been mediated "competitive conduct called a cartel, which implies an agreement between companies in the same sector whose purpose is to reduce or eliminate competition in a certain market obtaining power over the market to achieve the greatest possible benefits to the detriment of consumers.
"The four companies on file used four types or models of offers with identical prices in the four concepts of preferences that were used for the adjudication," the magistrates point out, who also point out that "there has been false competition between the plaintiff and her supposed competitors who In this case, it has meant the distribution of the market, the establishment of commercial conditions in terms of price and the exchange of sensitive commercial information”.
The Chamber has dismissed all the reasons alleged by the company sanctioned in its appeal against the administrative resolution, according to sources from the Valencian Supreme Court.
Francis Puig's company explained at the time that the exact coincidence of prices for different lots "evidence that Comunicacions dels Ports did not agree on any price with any other company", and pointed out that "it had wanted to agree on prices with other companies and violate the free competition, it is evident that exact prices would not have been offered to the cent”.
Ximo Puig's brother is being investigated for alleged subsidy fraud, following a complaint filed by the PP that denounced the existence of irregularities in the granting of subsidies received by various companies owned by the brother of the Valencian president and granted by the Valencian Generalitat and the Catalan Generalitat between 2015 and 2018.