Record fine for BİM from the Competition Board: Executive deleted data

Following its investigations, the Competition Authority has decided to impose a 1.3 billion TL fine on BİM Birleşim Mağazalar A.Ş (#BIMAS), whose shares are traded on Borsa Istanbul.

As a result of the investigation, it was determined that a BİM executive had performed a data deletion action.

Regarding the matter, it was ruled that the inspection the Competition Authority intended to carry out was obstructed and hindered. Following the ruling, it was decided to impose a 1.3 billion TL fine on the company.

STATEMENT FROM THE COMPETITION AUTHORITY

The Competition Authority announced the fine imposed on BİM on its news portal, where it reports its actions to the public, under the headline "The Consequences of Obstructing an On-Site Inspection Can Be Severe: 1.3 Billion TL Fine for BİM."

The following statements were used in the news report in question:

"The Competition Authority's authority to conduct on-site inspections is one of the primary tools used to uncover whether the Law has been violated. The effective and efficient use of this authority is extremely important for the establishment of competition. In the event that an on-site inspection is obstructed or hindered, an administrative fine of five per thousand of the relevant company's turnover is imposed.

On-site inspections are meticulously carried out by the Competition Authority using state-of-the-art devices. The inspection only covers work-related elements, and personal or private data are in no way touched; such data are kept outside the scope of the inspection.

In order for the enterprises where on-site inspections are conducted to avoid such administrative fines, all employees of the enterprise, 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.

Otherwise, this issue is easily detected by Authority personnel using high-tech devices, and enterprises face administrative fines within the scope of obstructing or hindering an on-site inspection.

Indeed, during the on-site inspection conducted at BİM's headquarters on January 14, it was determined by the Authority's experts that a data deletion action was carried out by a BİM executive after the on-site inspection had begun, and with the decision taken by the Board on February 6, it was ruled that the on-site inspection had been obstructed and hindered, and it was decided to impose an administrative fine of approximately 1.3 billion Turkish Liras on BİM."