Supreme court judgement in the cassation against the decision of the Latvian Competition Council
With the , AS Merko Ehitus disclosed information concerning the decision of the Latvian Competition Council according to which the group's then subsidiary SIA Merks is considered one of the nine companies involved in the prohibited cooperation of Latvian construction companies during the period 2015-2019, which means a violation of Section 11(1) of the Latvian Competition Act. Latvian Competition Council does not accuse the companies in the price-fixing. The decision of the Competition Council was largely based on conversation transcripts that were handed over by the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) which conducted wiretapping during surveillance activities.
Prior to the decision, the company was able to express its views on the raised accusations in writing once and participate in one meeting of the Latvian Competition Council. SIA Merks and AS Merko Ehitus contested the legality of the Latvian Competition Council's decision in the Latvian District Court due to manifest procedural and substantive mistakes, about which AS Merko Ehitus notified with the . The Latvian District Administrative Court did not satisfy the appeal, and therefore a cassation appeal was filed with the Supreme Court of Latvia, about which we notified in a . Additional comments have been published in interim and annual reports, all materials have been available in the of AS Merko Ehitus' website.
Today, 23 December 2025 the Supreme Court of Latvia announced its decision declaring the use of information collected through surveillance activities in administrative proceedings inadmissible, annulled the decision of the Latvian District Administrative Court of 25.02.2024 in its entirety, and remanded the case to the Latvian District Administrative Court for retrial.
Merko Ehitus group remains committed to promoting and implementing ethical business standards and behaviour, as well as compliance with all applicable laws and regulations governing business practices. Any possible infringement of fair competition is in violation of the operating principles and values of the group.
Urmas Somelar
Head of Group Finance
AS Merko Ehitus
AS Merko Ehitus () group companies construct buildings and infrastructure and develop real estate. We create a better living environment and build the future. We operate in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. As at the end of 2024, the group employed 605 people, and the group’s revenue for 2024 was EUR 539 million.
