Law enforcement agencies have initiated a criminal investigation into embezzlement at LLP «SK-Pharmacy» and entities in the pharmaceutical sector. The case was opened following an appeal by Majilis deputies Bakytzhan Bazarbek and Murat Abenov to the Prosecutor General's Office regarding facts identified by the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC).
This was reported on his Facebook page by Bakytzhan Bazarbek. According to him, JSC «Scientific Centre for Anti-Infective Drugs» is suspected of conducting fictitious clinical trials of medicinal products worth 166.4 million tenge. The centre also revealed unjustified spending of 36.7 million tenge on equipment that was not actually received.
Furthermore, LLP «KazMedProm» is suspected of the inefficient use of budget funds amounting to 5.3 billion tenge in supplying medical gloves to LLP «SK-Pharmacy».
At the same time, it is alleged that «SK-Pharmacy» caused damage to the budget of 35.8 billion tenge during the procurement of medicines.
«The facts of damages amounting to 35.8 billion tenge in drug procurement, as well as the sale of medical gloves at inflated prices by LLP «KazMedProm», have been registered in the information log (IL) of the Prosecutor General's Office and referred to the Financial Monitoring Agency for a procedural decision», the statement reads.
In addition, in connection with the fictitious clinical trials and unjustified spending of funds exceeding 200 million tenge, the Almaty prosecutor's office has been instructed to conduct an audit of the activities of JSC «Scientific Centre for Anti-Infective Drugs».
The Prosecutor General's Office has also initiated additional inspections of LLP «SK-Pharmacy» and the National Centre for Expertise of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices.
Recall that earlier, Majilis deputies Bakytzhan Bazarbek and Murat Abenov sent a statement to the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the facts identified during the SAC audit. In their appeal, they criticised the activities of LLP «SK-Pharmacy», the National Centre for Expertise of Medicinal Products and other participants in the pharmaceutical sector.
Later, «SK-Pharmacy» commented on the deputies' statement, stating that the company is implementing measures to address the violations identified during the SAC audit, as well as to increase the transparency of procurement and logistics processes.