Public figure Didar Smagulov has alleged signs of corruption schemes in the procurement of vaccines for Kazakhstan and has sent appeals to the Agency for Civil Service Affairs (ACSA) and the US Embassy. He claims that the Ministry of Health is lobbying for the interests of the French company Sanofi and ignoring recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).
On his Facebook page, Smagulov writes that since 2013, Kazakhstan has purchased Sanofi's acellular vaccines — Hexaxim, Pentaxim and Adacel — for a total of 149.5 billion tenge. Meanwhile, in 2012 the WHO recommended against rushing to switch to acellular drugs due to their lower effectiveness and the need for frequent booster vaccinations.
Smagulov believes that it is precisely these expensive supplies that are the reason for the "unjustified lobbying" by the Ministry of Health.
He has alleged possible "kickbacks", citing an official 2018 press release from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The document contains information that Sanofi subsidiaries in various countries, including Kazakhstan, gave bribes to officials. To settle the allegations in the US, the company paid over $25 million (12.9 billion tenge) in illegal profits and fines.
According to the public figure, some officials involved during the period of those supplies later received promotions.
He says that at a meeting of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control, he asked the head of the body, Zhanar Beisenova, and the First Vice Minister of Health, Timur Sultangaziyev, about the reasons for the participation of Sanofi representatives in meetings of expert commissions, which the Ministry of Health claims are independent.
Smagulov claims that Sultangaziyev "denied the company's involvement", but the public figure himself refers to previously submitted minutes in which Sanofi employees were listed among the main speakers.
According to Smagulov, he regards this as deliberate misrepresentation. In connection with this, the public figure stated that he has filed an appeal with the ACSA "regarding the fact of deception on the part of the Vice Minister".
He has also sent a request to the US Embassy for the provision of details, including the names of Kazakh officials who may have received illegal payments.