Hungarian authorities and the administration are stepping up efforts to fight bid rigging in public procurement. The Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) is one authority, in particular, that is fighting anti-competitive behavior in public procurement. In Hungary bid rigging in public procurement is the only antitrust violation that is punished by criminal law, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment. It may also lead to exclusion from future public procurements. The International Law Office, where you can find more details, explains that some of the highest fines in the HCA’s history were imposed on cartels targeting public procurement. So it has recently become an enforcement priority to investigate all antitrust violations relating to public procurement involving smaller amounts, which also affect small and medium-sized enterprises.