19.02.2025 20:20
The Competition Authority imposed an administrative fine of 1.3 billion Turkish lira on BİM for obstructing on-site inspections. The institution emphasized that on-site inspections are crucial for ensuring competition.
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The Competition Authority imposed an administrative fine of 1.3 billion Turkish liras on BİM for obstructing the on-site inspection of its experts.
In a statement from the Competition Authority, it was emphasized that the authority to conduct on-site inspections is one of the primary tools used to determine whether the law has been violated, and that the effective and efficient use of this authority is extremely important for establishing competition.
STATEMENT FROM THE COMPETITION AUTHORITY
It was noted in the statement that in cases where the on-site inspection is obstructed or made more difficult, the relevant company is fined 0.5% of its turnover. "On-site inspections are meticulously carried out by the Competition Authority using state-of-the-art devices. The inspection only covers elements related to the operation, and personal or private data is not touched in any way; these data are excluded from the scope of the inspection. To avoid facing the aforementioned administrative fine, all employees of the undertaking, from the lowest to the highest level, must not delete any data from any device they use for work from the moment the on-site inspection begins," the statement said.
1.3 BILLION LIRA FINE
The statement indicated that otherwise, this issue can be easily detected by the Authority's personnel using high-tech devices, and it was recorded: "Indeed, during the on-site inspection conducted at BİM's headquarters on January 14, it was detected by the Authority's experts that a data deletion action was carried out by a BİM manager after the on-site inspection had begun, and with the decision made by the Board on February 6, it was ruled that the on-site inspection was obstructed and made more difficult, leading to the decision to impose an administrative fine of approximately 1.3 billion Turkish liras on BİM."
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