WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2022) Seven South Korean companies will pay $3.1 million for allegedly participating in a bid-rigging scheme to secure contracts to build US military bases, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
"Seven South Korea-based companies have agreed to pay $3.1 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a bid-rigging conspiracy that targeted US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) contracts for construction and engineering work on US military bases in South Korea," the release said.
The US accused the seven companies of trying to suppress and eliminate competition during the bidding process on 15 USACE contracts awarded between 2016 and 2019, according to the release.
"The United States further alleged that as a result of this anticompetitive conduct, the USACE paid substantially more for services performed under the contracts than it would have had there been competition among the bidders," the release added.
Each company has agreed to pay an equal share of the settlement amount.
The companies are Korea Engineering Consultants Corporation; Yul Lim Construction Co. Ltd.; Shin Woo Construction & Industrial Co. Ltd.; Seongbo Const. Ind. Co. Ltd.; Wooseok Construction Co. Ltd.; Yuil Engineering and Construction Co.; and Seokwang Development Co. Ltd, according to the Justice Department.
