In 24 September 2026, the Saeima adopted, in the final reading, amendments to the Criminal Law introducing criminal liability for individuals involved in prohibited agreements, or cartels, in public procurement.
Until now, administrative liability for prohibited agreements in procurement could be imposed on market participants, i.e. legal persons. The adopted amendments provide for the possibility of also holding individuals criminally liable where they organise or implement a prohibited agreement, for example by agreeing on prices or coordinating bids in public procurement procedures.
Criminal liability will apply to prohibited agreements involving high-value procurements. These are defined as procurements with a contract value of at least EUR 750,000 excluding VAT, or, in the case of works contracts, at least EUR 1 million excluding VAT.
Depending on the offence, individuals involved in prohibited agreements in procurement may face imprisonment or alternative penalties, including probation supervision, community service or a fine. An additional penalty may also be imposed, prohibiting the person, for a specified period, from holding certain positions or engaging in certain types of business activity.
The amendments also provide for the possibility of exemption from criminal liability where, after entering into a prohibited agreement, the person is the first to voluntarily report the infringement and actively assists in its detection and investigation.
Māris Spička, Head of the Executive director of the Competition Council: “Cartel agreements in public procurement increase the cost of goods and services, preventing limited public funds from being used efficiently to meet other important needs of society. Particularly in high-value procurements, such agreements cause significant harm not only to the State, municipalities and their publicly owned companies, but to society as a whole. Therefore, severe sanctions capable of deterring such infringements are an important enforcement tool. At the same time, the new framework will require much closer and better coordinated cooperation between law enforcement authorities and the Competition Council in order to achieve the objective of the legislation – more effective enforcement against cartel agreements.”
The amendments were developed following a judgment of the Senate of the Supreme Court in the construction companies’ cartel case, which concluded that the current legal framework does not allow materials obtained through the interception of communications during operational activities to be used in administrative proceedings as evidence of infringements of competition law.