The Anti-Corruption Agency, together with the Ministry of Healthcare, conducted an external analysis of corruption risks in the activities of LLP "SK-Pharmacy" (SKP).
"As the analysis results showed, SKP has serious corruption risks that hinder the implementation of tasks for the timely and high-quality provision of medicines and medical devices to the population, as well as the development of the pharmaceutical industry and manufacturing," the press service of the Anti-Corruption Agency reported.
It became known that more than half of the auctions for the procurement of medicines were conducted using the method of determining a contractor without carrying out the selection procedure. The norms laid down in the regulations, which determine the winner even in the case of only one bid being submitted, created a fertile ground for this.
"Pharmaceutical companies, using this loophole in collusion with other suppliers, won tenders at the highest possible price. Thus, competition and a reduction in procurement costs were not ensured. For example, a significant share of the savings (81%) from the auctions in 2020-2023 was formed by only 8% of all lots (567 out of 6513). In every third lot (1969 or 30%), there was no price reduction at all (from 0 to 30 tyyn)," the statement said.
According to the agency, frequent refusals by intermediary suppliers to participate in the first step of the auction, their participation in pairs, and "exchanging wins" indicate the widespread use of cartel collusion. It is reported that recent investigations confirmed that this is done to create false competition and maintain high procurement prices.
Furthermore, when procuring medical equipment, the tender commission allowed suppliers whose bids did not meet the tender conditions to participate in the auction. The commission also ignored negative expert conclusions.
At the same time, the Anti-Corruption Agency identified 13 contracts for the procurement of medical equipment that had different costs but similar technical specifications.
In addition, it became known that in the activities of 8 domestic manufacturers (gloves, syringes, iodine, etc.) there are signs of importing foreign products instead of their actual production.
"This is indicated by import data, insufficient imported raw materials for producing the required quantity of goods, a lack of production capacity, as well as abnormally low indicators of electricity and water consumption," the statement said.
Alongside this, the Anti-Corruption Agency identified corruption risks related to "the employment of individuals bypassing the competition, the absence of independent members on the competition commission, failure to take measures to resolve conflicts of interest, group transfers, unlawful approval of additional payments, bonuses, travel expense payments, as well as salaries for individual employees who did not actually work at SKP."
"Overall, the results of the external analysis indicate the incorrect organisation of management at SKP, which does not allow the tasks set before it to be implemented at the proper level. SKP practically did not work directly with manufacturers; all work was built through intermediaries. In essence, these were unnecessary 'middlemen' who enriched themselves by purchasing medicines from manufacturers and then reselling them to SKP. Moreover, such supplies were carried out at maximum prices, without competition, through cartel collusion," the agency reported.
It is noted that even domestic manufacturers that entered into long-term contracts with SKP resorted to manipulations involving fictitious production. As a result, to comprehensively take measures to combat corruption, the Anti-Corruption Agency, together with the Ministry of Healthcare, on 12 May approved a plan of organisational measures to eliminate the aforementioned corruption risks.