Poland is currently constructing thousands of kilometers of roads WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Polish prosecutors have charged 10 managers from nine construction companies, including multinational ones, of price-fixing activities in the process of winning EU-funded road construction contracts. According to news agency Reuters, the companies in question include Austria's Strabag, Portugal's Mota Engil, as well as units of Spain's Ferrovial and France's Bouygues Construction and Vinci.

An official from Poland's General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) was also charged. Last week, the European Commission suspended payments of zł.3.5 billion in EU funds for road construction in connection with this case.

In documents submitted to court, prosecutors allege that one executive bribed the GDDKiA official with a gold-embossed limited edition fountain pen, which was worth $3,800 and came in a glass case shaped like the ancient Lighthouse at Alexandria.

Prosecutors say they recorded phone conversations in which, they said, executives passed on sensitive bid information to executives from firms they should have been competing with to win road-building contracts.

Poland A.M.