The Bundeskartellamt confirms that on 6 March 2013 it carried out searches at the premises of several sanitary ware wholesalers. The authority followed up the suspicion that some sanitary ware wholesalers operate a system of price coordination which aims at price agreements between the wholesalers and leads to cartel prices charged to plumbers/installers.

The searches were carried out simultaneously at a total of 14 locations, including private residences. 40 staff members of the Bundeskartellamt participated in the searches, they were assisted by 49 police and tax investigation officers.

Until the official conclusion of the proceedings the Bundeskartellamt will not publish any further information. In particular the names of the companies searched will not be disclosed.

Searches conducted by the Bundeskartellamt are based on a judicial search warrant. This requires an initial suspicion of a competition law infringement. A search is conducted to clarify the facts of a case and by no means implies that the companies and persons concerned have actually committed an infringement of competition law. Until the proceedings are concluded, the presumption of innocence applies.