20.02.2025 08:50
BİM, which was fined a record 1.3 billion Turkish lira by the Competition Authority, made a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform. In the statement, it was said, "This penalty is unjust. The personal conduct of the mentioned personnel is behavior that is never accepted by our company, and their employment contract has been immediately terminated. All legal avenues will be pursued against this decision."
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The Competition Authority imposed a fine of 1.3 billion lira on BİM after it was determined that an employee at the managerial level deleted data from a work device during the investigation conducted about the company.
In a statement titled "The Consequences of Preventing On-Site Inspection Can Be Severe," the Competition Authority stated that "the act of data deletion was carried out by a BİM manager after the on-site inspection had begun," and it was ruled that the on-site inspection was obstructed and made more difficult by the institution.
BİM ISSUED A STATEMENT TO KAP
Following the hefty fine, BİM made a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform. The statement made to KAP included the following expressions: "The Competition Authority has imposed an administrative fine of 1,295,902,606.94 TL on our Company in accordance with the subparagraph (d) of the first paragraph of Article 16 of Law No. 4054."
If the mentioned administrative fine is applied with a 25% discount in accordance with the sixth paragraph of Article 17 of Law No. 5326, the fine amount will be 971,926,955.21 TL. The decision notified to our Company is not a reasoned decision, and the details regarding the justification of the fine have not yet reached our Company. In accordance with Article 6 of the Capital Markets Board's Communiqué on Special Situations No. II-15.1, on 11.02.2025, the BİM Board of Directors decided to postpone the fulfillment of the public disclosure obligations to which our Company is subject until the reasoned decision is notified to us due to the following reasons;
1) the lack of clarifying information for investors and the public,
2) the potential for statements made with the existing information to cause speculation that could harm investors and our company,
3) the administrative judicial path being open from the date the reasoned decision is notified and the impossibility of determining our legal roadmap regarding the process without the reasoned decision being notified.
"IT WAS DECIDED TO IMMEDIATELY MAKE A SPECIAL SITUATION STATEMENT"
In the same Board of Directors decision, it was also stated that despite all the measures taken under our control, if the reasoned decision is published on the Competition Authority's website earlier or announced to the public by another real or legal person or institution, either domestically or abroad, contrary to Articles 52 and 53 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, the conditions for postponement would be eliminated, and it was decided that a special situation statement would be made immediately on the date any of these situations occurred.
"THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE FINE IS AGAINST INSTITUTIONAL CUSTOM"
On the website "haber.rekabet.gov.tr," which is not an official website of the Competition Authority but is stated to belong to it, and on its associated social media accounts, the announcement titled "The Consequences of Preventing On-Site Inspection Can Be Severe: 1.3 Billion TL Fine for BİM" was made in a manner inconsistent with institutional customs. Subsequently, on the same day (19.02.2025), the news was covered by all media. The announcement of the administrative fine was made contrary to institutional customs and methods, while the reasoned decision had not yet reached our Company and our right to appeal was reserved under administrative litigation procedures. Therefore, it became necessary to make this statement.
Although the reasoned decision has not yet been communicated to our Company, it is understood from the statements in the news that the mentioned fine was imposed due to a staff member, who was on leave due to health issues during the investigation conducted at our Company, deleting messages from a messaging application on their personal phone, which would not affect the Company's decisions.
"THE FINE IMPOSED IS UNFAIR"
Despite the fact that the mentioned messages can be retrieved and that there is no content in these messages that violates competition law, the fine imposed is unfair. There is absolutely no statement or action in all accounts of our Company or in the communications and practices of our managers that would warrant a penalty. Our Company is extremely sensitive and disciplined in acting in accordance with the principles of transparency, accountability, and competition. The personal behavior of the mentioned staff member is not accepted by our Company at all, and their employment contract has been terminated immediately. All legal avenues will be pursued against the decision as soon as the reasoned decision is communicated to us.
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