On the last day of April, unexpectedly for everyone, the Minister of Digitalisation, Bagdat Musin, was sent into retirement. The government did not disclose the reasons for his dismissal, while Musin himself stated on social media that he left of his own volition.
Meanwhile, the media reported that criminal cases had been opened against the former minister. And while the media space is guessing why Musin was removed, journalists from Ratel.kz have uncovered some interesting facts that possibly led to the loss of his ministerial portfolio.
At the end of March 2024, the Treasury Committee of the Ministry of Finance published the results of a tender for the purchase of mobile cellular communication measurement complexes for the Telecommunications Committee of the Ministry of Digitalisation.
The plan was to acquire 29 sets of mobile complexes for a total amount of 5.2 billion tenge (at 178.9 million per set). According to the tender conditions, the goods were to be a mobile cellular communication measurement complex in the form of a portable backpack, which was to be housed in a vehicle.
The weight of the portable backpack was not to exceed 10 kg. Its task was to support the uninterrupted operation of a scanning receiver and at least 12 measurement terminals, and to provide testing of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G radio technologies.
The description of the complexes is very detailed and understandable only to specialists, which is often encountered in public procurement in the digitalisation sector. One thing is obvious - such equipment is not manufactured in Kazakhstan and, as the media suggested, falls under the definition of dual-use products.
Five potential suppliers submitted bids for the tender: Gulser Computers LLP, VK Project LLP, Neka Trade LLP, Freedom Telecom LLP and Iskracom LLP. The winner was Gulser Computers LLP (the retailer chain 'Alser kz').
Meanwhile, journalists noted that the price offers from Neka Trade LLP, Freedom Telecom LLP, and Iskracom LLP, whose bids were rejected at the initial stage, were significantly lower than those of the two admitted suppliers.
Neka Trade LLP, which offered a price of 159.1 million tenge per set, appealed the results of the tender. The Department of Internal State Audit of Astana concluded that the goods manufactured by the company met the tender requirements and that Neka Trade's bid was rejected from participation in the tender unreasonably.
The tender organisers received a notice to remedy the violations; however, they did not review the tender results. Instead, it emerged that the Internal State Audit Committee cancelled the capital's department notice due to a complaint from the winning company.
According to journalists, the Ministry of Digitalisation could have saved over 571 million tenge of budget funds on the tender, but for some reason preferred to squander money.
It is noted that a similar situation occurred in 2023, when the Ministry of Digitalisation purchased four sets of fixed monitoring and direction-finding stations for 1.5 billion tenge (at 382.7 million per set).
At that time, only two potential suppliers participated in the tender, and the winner was again the same Gulser Computers LLP, whose price offer was higher than that of its competitor.
Ratel.kz suggests that both tenders fit the typical rigged tender scheme, in which the winner is determined long before the results are announced, with one exception – in 2024, unwanted players 'interfered' in the tender.
It is also noted that the founders of Gulser Computers LLP are Sergei Guly and the Russian company SinTella LLC. Consequently, it is suggested that when purchasing goods through Gulser Computers, there are risks that Kazakhstan could face secondary sanctions.
Another curious fact: before the contract with the Ministry of Digitalisation in 2023, Gulser Computers LLP had supplied equipment to state bodies over 5 years for a total amount of less than 300 million tenge. Now, in just two years, the company has received contracts worth nearly 7 billion tenge from just one ministry.
The media do not claim that Bagdat Musin was sent into retirement specifically because of these tenders. However, these public procurement activities of the department could not fail to attract attention.