Answer ... The Italian Competition Authority continues to pay particular attention to bid-rigging cases in the context of public procurement, with a view to helping to avoid excessive public expenditure. In 2018, it opened three cartel investigations in sectors in which the alleged cartels aimed to distort the outcome of public tender procedures:

• private security services for the public administration (I821 – Affidamenti vari di servizi di vigilanza privata);
• health and safety services for public workplaces (I822 – Consip/gara sicurezza e salute); and
• waste management (I831 – Gare AMA servizio smaltimento rifiuti).

These cases will likely be decided in 2019.