Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 756 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by countryWhat for?
by area of lawAll areas of law
Who?
by company- AS Asphaltstraßensanierung GmbH, BITUNOVA GmbH, Kutter Spezialstraßenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Possehl Construction GmbH (inkl. VSI), Liesen…alles für den Bau GmbH, OAT GmbH/Otto Alte-Teigeler GmbH €60.3m 77 % · 1 case
- AS Asphaltstraßensanierung, BITUNOVA, Mainka u. a. (Straßenerhaltungskartell, 7 Unternehmen) €10.5m 13 % · 1 case
- BeMo Tunnelling, Echterhoff-Holland, Eiffage Infra-West, Fenne, Gehrken, IH Inpako, IHT, Karger, Korte, Mainka Bau, Möllmann, Rostek & Pesch, T&M Baugesellschaft, AKM Verwaltungsgesellschaft €4.8m 6 % · 1 case
- Strabag AG (Köln); Kemna Bau Andreae GmbH & Co. KG als Kronzeuge ohne Bußgeld €2.79m 4 % · 1 case
- Deutsche Wohnen SE — 0 % · 1 case
- PAUPE HOLDING SA, Bitusag S.A., Bitusag Neuchâtel SA, Wyss Fils SA, Prodo SA, Duckert SA — 0 % · 1 case
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 1 | €4.8m |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 2 | €2.86m |
| Q1 2025 | 1 | €800 |
| Q2 2025 | 2 | €10.5m |
| Q3 2025 | 3 | €335,028 |
| Q4 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2026 | 3 | €259,816 |
| Q2 2026 | 1 | — |
| Q3 2026 | 1 | €60.3m |
14 cases
6 Aug 2026 AS Asphaltstraßensanierung GmbH, BITUNOVA GmbH, Kutter Spezialstraßenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Possehl Construction GmbH (inkl. VSI), Liesen…alles für den Bau GmbH, OAT GmbH/Otto Alte-Teigeler GmbHBundeskartellamt: 60.3 million EUR against DSK road repair cartel €60.3m
From around 2010 to September 2019, six suppliers of thin cold-laid asphalt surface layers (Dünne Asphaltdeckschichten in Kaltbauweise, DSK) allocated customers – primarily public contracting authorities – and contracts among themselves nationwide and coordinated prices. Germany's Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) imposed fines of around 60.3 million EUR; all proceedings ended in settlements.
Anyone who "shares out" public contracts regionally risks fines running into millions – calculations and bids must always be prepared independently.
Customer allocation and bid rigging in public contracts
- Authority / court
- Bundeskartellamt
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 1 GWB, Art. 101 AEUV
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Mitigating circumstances
- Leniency bonus for Possehl/VSI, Bitunova, Kutter and AS; settlement
- Published
- 6 Aug 2026
- Bußgelder wegen Kartellabsprachen im Bereich Straßenreparatur mit DSK Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jun 2026 Deutsche Wohnen SELG Berlin I confirms GDPR infringement by Deutsche Wohnen through tenant archive without deletion function Fine
In 2019, the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BlnBDI) had imposed 14.5 million EUR on the housing group because tenant data such as salary statements, bank statements and social security data were held in an archive system with no means of deletion. Following the 2023 CJEU judgment on direct corporate liability, the Berlin Regional Court (Landgericht Berlin I) confirmed on 9 June 2026 infringements of data minimisation and storage limitation; the press release does not state the amount of the fine set by the court.
Ensure that archive and filing systems can technically implement deletion periods from the outset – ‘privacy by design’ is subject to fines.
- Authority / court
- Landgericht Berlin I (Bußgeldbehörde: Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit)
- Area of law
- Data protection · Data breaches and data security
- Legal basis
- Art. 5, Art. 25 Abs. 1 DSGVO
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Liability of senior managers
- According to the CJEU (C-807/21), a breach of duty by a person in a management position need not be proven for the corporate fine.
- Published
- 10 Jun 2026
- Landgericht Berlin bestätigt Verstoß der Deutsche Wohnen SE gegen die DSGVO Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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23 Feb 2026 15 construction workers not registered: criminal fine and administrative fine for managing director €16,316
A Romanian construction firm, acting as a subcontractor for a Düsseldorf client, deployed 15 workers on a construction site in the district of Emmendingen without registering them for social insurance; the loss amounted to around 85,000 EUR. The managing director received a final penalty order (Strafbefehl) of 15,000 EUR and a fine of 1,316 EUR (date = publication).
Companies that deploy foreign workers must be able to prove social insurance coverage in the country of origin (A1 certificate) – otherwise German contribution law applies.
- Authority / court
- Amtsgericht Kenzingen / Hauptzollamt Lörrach (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 266a StGB (Vorenthalten und Veruntreuen von Arbeitsentgelt); SGB IV (Meldepflichten)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- intentional
- Liability of senior managers
- Managing director personally convicted by penalty order.
- Published
- 23 Feb 2026
- Hohe Geldstrafe für Geschäftsführer einer Baufirma (Hauptzollamt Lörrach) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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12 Feb 2026 Polish construction company: underpayment of rebar benders – 11,000 EUR upheld €11,000
The managing director of a Polish construction company with twelve employees (anonymised in the decision as ‘P Sp. z o.o.’), which was working as a subcontractor on a motorway bridge construction site in Upper Austria, had paid five rebar benders below the collectively agreed wage in March 2023. The Gmunden district authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft Gmunden) imposed 12,500 EUR, and the Upper Austria Regional Administrative Court (Landesverwaltungsgericht Oberösterreich) reduced this to 11,000 EUR; Austria's Supreme Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VwGH) rejected the appeal on points of law (Ra 2025/11/0196).
When posting workers to Austria, the correct classification of each activity under the collective agreement is decisive – it is subject to full judicial review.
- Authority / court
- Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Vorinstanzen: Bezirkshauptmannschaft Gmunden, Landesverwaltungsgericht Oberösterreich)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 29 Abs. 1 Lohn- und Sozialdumping-Bekämpfungsgesetz (LSD-BG)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- reduced
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Employees
- Under 50
- Mitigating circumstances
- Reduction of the fine by the Regional Administrative Court.
- Liability of senior managers
- The fine is directed against the managing director as the person responsible under administrative criminal law.
- VwGH Ra 2025/11/0196 vom 12.02.2026 (RIS) Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jan 2026 Bulgarian construction subcontractor: 232,500 EUR for paying below the minimum wage €232,500
A Bulgarian construction company that worked as a subcontractor for a German firm on a major construction site in the district of Tuttlingen between January and May 2023 paid below the minimum wage, recorded only the duration of working time rather than its start and end, and did not register the posting. The decisions issued in September 2025, final since the end of 2025, amount to 232,500 EUR – of which 215,000 EUR is disgorgement of the economic benefit and 17,500 EUR is imposed on the managing director (date = publication; exact date of the decision not specified).
General contractors should actively check the minimum wage, working time records and posting notifications of their foreign subcontractors – the economic benefit is disgorged in full.
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Singen (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohngesetz; Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (Aufzeichnungs- und Meldepflichten)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Liability of senior managers
- Separate fine of 17,500 EUR against the managing director.
- Published
- 9 Jan 2026
- Zeit, Geld, Meldepflicht – Zoll ahndet Verstöße mit sechsstelligem Bußgeld (Hauptzollamt Singen) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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30 Sep 2025 Scaffolder left injured undeclared worker without help – Federal Supreme Court upholds sentence €35,028
In February 2020, a scaffolder employed without a work permit fell around 4.5 m from scaffolding; the owner and managing director of the scaffolding company (anonymised in the judgment as ‘A.A. GmbH’) did not call the emergency services despite knowing of the accident, and had employed two Kosovars without permits. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) upheld the conviction by the Lucerne Cantonal Court (Kantonsgericht Luzern): a suspended custodial sentence of 9 months and an unconditional monetary penalty of 80 daily rates of 410 CHF (32,800 CHF), plus a fine of 2,000 CHF that also covers traffic offences (6B_163/2024).
After an accident at work, first aid takes priority over everything else – attempting to conceal illegal employment makes the case more serious under criminal law.
- Authority / court
- Schweizerisches Bundesgericht (Vorinstanz: Kantonsgericht Luzern)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Art. 128 StGB (Unterlassung der Nothilfe); Ausländer- und Integrationsgesetz (Beschäftigung ohne Bewilligung)
- Action
- Custodial sentence
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- intentional
- Liability of senior managers
- Owner and managing director convicted personally.
Original amount 32,800 CHF, converted at the ECB reference rate of 30 Sep 2025.
- Bundesgericht, Urteil 6B_163/2024 vom 30.09.2025 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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25 Aug 2025 PAUPE HOLDING SA, Bitusag S.A., Bitusag Neuchâtel SA, Wyss Fils SA, Prodo SA, Duckert SAWEKO fines road maintenance firms in Jura/Neuchâtel over bid rigging Fine
Regional suppliers of surface treatments and chip sealing in road maintenance colluded on bids and allocated territories. Switzerland's Competition Commission (Wettbewerbskommission, WEKO) imposed sanctions on Bitusag/Paupe (jointly and severally, CHF 640,000–990,000, exact amount redacted), Wyss Fils (CHF 44,000–74,000), Prodo (CHF 760) and Duckert (CHF 0) and approved amicable settlements; the investigation against Colas Suisse was discontinued.
Small regional road builders are also sanctioned – cover bids and territorial protection must disappear from corporate culture.
Cover bids and territorial agreements in regional road construction
- Authority / court
- Wettbewerbskommission (WEKO)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 5 Abs. 3 i.V.m. Abs. 1 KG, Art. 49a Abs. 1 KG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Mitigating circumstances
- Amicable settlements; leniency programme (Duckert free of sanctions)
- Enduits superficiels et gravillonnage : Décision du 25 août 2025 Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jul 2025 Share buyback disclosed too late: BVwG reduces FMA penalty against real estate company €300,000
On Saturday, 17 December 2022, the management board of a listed real estate company (anonymised in the judgment) approved by email a new share buyback programme including its volume, period and price, but only published it after a formal resolution on Monday, 19 December 2022. Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) imposed a penalty of 375,000 EUR; the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht, BVwG) upheld the breach of the ad hoc disclosure obligation but reduced the penalty to 300,000 EUR.
A final decision by a corporate body triggers the ad hoc disclosure obligation immediately – weekends and outstanding contractual details do not postpone it.
Ad hoc disclosure obligation for decisions of corporate bodies, including at weekends
- Authority / court
- Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Beschwerde gegen Straferkenntnis der Finanzmarktaufsicht FMA)
- Area of law
- Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations
- Legal basis
- Art. 17 Abs. 1 MAR i. V. m. § 156 Abs. 3 Z 2, Abs. 4 BörseG 2018
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- reduced
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- negligent
- BVwG W279 2310813-1 vom 09.07.2025 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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20 May 2025 Plastering business: 7.85 million EUR loss from cash-in-hand wages, over four years in prison Custodial sentence
A Munich master plasterer, whose business specialising in stucco façades at times had up to 60 employees, paid undeclared cash wages for years and concealed them with sham invoices from supposed Italian subcontractors; the loss uncovered for public funds amounts to 7.85 million EUR. The Munich I Regional Court (Landgericht München I) sentenced him with final effect to 4 years and 3 months, and a foreman to 3 years' imprisonment for aiding and abetting.
Cash-in-hand wage schemes are uncovered over the years – the loss adds up, and employees who take part are also punished.
- Authority / court
- Landgericht München I, 6. Strafkammer (Ermittlung: Hauptzollamt Rosenheim, FKS Weilheim)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 266a StGB (Vorenthalten und Veruntreuen von Arbeitsentgelt); § 370 AO (Steuerhinterziehung)
- Action
- Custodial sentence
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Employees
- 50 to 249
- Culpability
- intentional
- Liability of senior managers
- Owner and foreman personally sentenced to prison terms.
- Published
- 9 Jul 2025
- Über vier Jahre Haft wegen Sozialversicherungsbetrugs für Bauunternehmer (Hauptzollamt Rosenheim) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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13 May 2025 AS Asphaltstraßensanierung, BITUNOVA, Mainka u. a. (Straßenerhaltungskartell, 7 Unternehmen)Bundeskartellamt: 10.5 million EUR against seven road repair companies €10.5m
From 2016 to 2019, seven road repair companies allocated contracting authorities regionally, determined in advance who should win the contract and set each other minimum prices for cover bids. The Bundeskartellamt imposed fines of 10.5 million EUR; BITUNOVA cooperated as leniency applicant, and all proceedings ended in settlements. Addressees: AS Asphaltstraßensanierung GmbH, bausion Strassenbau-Produkte GmbH, BITUNOVA GmbH, Gerhard Herbers GmbH, Liesen … alles für den Bau GmbH, Mainka GmbH Straßenunterhaltung, MOT Müritzer Oberflächentechnik GmbH.
Cover bids are not only subject to fines but, for the employees involved, a criminal offence of bid rigging.
Cover bids and territorial agreements in tenders
- Authority / court
- Bundeskartellamt
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 1 GWB
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Mitigating circumstances
- Leniency programme (BITUNOVA), settlement
- Liability of senior managers
- Criminal prosecution of the individuals involved by the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office
- Published
- 13 May 2025
- Kartellabsprachen zwischen Straßenreparatur-Unternehmen Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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15 Jan 2025 Saxony: fine against estate agent for breach of AML due diligence obligations €800
The Saxony State Directorate (Landesdirektion Sachsen), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, imposed a fine of 800 EUR on an estate agent, announced in anonymised form, for breach of the due diligence obligations under the German Money Laundering Act (GwG). The list of announcements shows numerous further fines and reprimands against agents ranging from 50 to 5,000 EUR.
Estate agents must identify both contracting parties in good time – even small offices are subject to active anti-money laundering supervision.
Identification of contracting parties in property brokerage
- Authority / court
- Landesdirektion Sachsen (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence
- Legal basis
- Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Bekanntmachungen gemäß § 57 GwG – Landesdirektion Sachsen (lfd. Nr. 29) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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6 Nov 2024 Strabag AG (Köln); Kemna Bau Andreae GmbH & Co. KG als Kronzeuge ohne BußgeldBundeskartellamt: 2.79 million EUR against Strabag over collusion on Cologne's Zoobrücke €2.79m
In the tender for the refurbishment of the Zoobrücke bridge in Cologne in early 2017, employees agreed that one company would submit a cover bid so that the other would win the contract, in return for a later compensation payment. Strabag received a fine of 2.79 million EUR (settlement); the proceedings against Kemna were discontinued as it was the leniency applicant.
A single rigged tender is enough for a fine and criminal proceedings – compensation payments between bidders are a clear red flag.
Cover bids and compensation payments in individual tenders
- Authority / court
- Bundeskartellamt
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 1 GWB
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Employees
- 10,000 or more
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement
- Liability of senior managers
- The Cologne public prosecutor's office is prosecuting the individuals involved under Section 298 StGB (German Criminal Code)
- Published
- 6 Nov 2024
- Geldbuße gegen die Strabag AG wegen Absprachen bei der Sanierung der Zoobrücke in Köln Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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16 Oct 2024 OGH: 65,000 EUR fine against joinery over cover bids and market sharing €65,000
From February 2011 to October 2016, a construction and furniture joinery anonymised in the decision (J*, together with its general partner GmbH) participated in agreements on successful bidders, cover bids, market sharing and information exchange in tenders in Lower Austria and Vienna. The Cartel Court imposed a fine of 55,000 EUR only for 26 infringements up to June 2016; the OGH upheld the appeals of the BWB and the Federal Cartel Prosecutor and set a fine of 65,000 EUR on a joint and several basis for the entire period.
Even small craft businesses are penalised for cover bids – "courtesy bids" among colleagues are competition law infringements.
Cover bids in tenders for craft trades
- Authority / court
- Oberster Gerichtshof als Kartellobergericht (Antrag der Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 1 Abs 1 KartG 2005, §§ 28, 29 KartG
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- OGH 16 Ok 6/23b vom 16.10.2024 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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14 Dec 2023 BeMo Tunnelling, Echterhoff-Holland, Eiffage Infra-West, Fenne, Gehrken, IH Inpako, IHT, Karger, Korte, Mainka Bau, Möllmann, Rostek & Pesch, T&M Baugesellschaft, AKM VerwaltungsgesellschaftBundeskartellamt: 4.8 million EUR against 14 construction firms over collusion in industrial construction €4.8m
13 construction companies colluded on industrial construction contracts of Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (2011–2016), ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe (2007–2017) and Deutsche Edelstahlwerke (2014–2016) and sent each other their calculations so that the others could submit higher sham bids. The Bundeskartellamt imposed fines and liability amounts totalling around 4.8 million EUR on the companies, the former parent company AKM (the first liability amounts under the 2017 amendment to the GWB, the German Act against Restraints of Competition) and twelve responsible individuals; the leniency applicant Hermann Kassens escaped a fine.
Contracts from private industrial customers such as steelworks are also protected against bid rigging – exchanging calculations with competitors is prohibited.
Bid rigging in private industrial contracts
- Authority / court
- Bundeskartellamt
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 1 GWB
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement by almost all companies; leniency applicant Hermann Kassens Bauunternehmung (proceedings discontinued)
- Liability of senior managers
- Fines or liability amounts imposed on twelve responsible individuals
- Published
- 14 Dec 2023
- Geldbußen und Haftungsbeträge wegen Absprachen im Industriebau Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link