The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, during its supervisory activities, has canceled procurements totaling over 14 billion rubles.

Pursuant to para. 12, part 1, Art. 25 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Combating Corruption", violations of the procedures for conducting competitions, auctions, and procurement procedures are offenses that create conditions for corruption.

In this regard, the main efforts of the prosecutor's offices of the Vitebsk region in the field of procurement are focused on protecting the economic interests of the state, preventing the use of budget funds, as well as funds of economic entities with a significant state share in the authorized capital in violation of the legislation, and minimizing corruption risks.

To intensify work in this area, access to the "Tenders" information system has been provided for monitoring and analyzing information on ongoing procurements, both with the involvement of budget funds and at the expense of own funds.

Analysis of the information posted in the "Tenders" information system shows that the specified organization of work allows preventing negative consequences, identifying violations of the procedure for posting procurement information, facts of incorrect selection of specific procurement procedures, and violations of the procedure for concluding contracts based on procurement results.

For example, during the study of the invitation to participate in the procurement of a forage harvester by OJSC "Kushliki" of Polotsk district (48% share of communal property of the district in the authorized capital) with an estimated cost of 9.2 billion rubles at the expense of the enterprise's funds, the regional prosecutor's office found discrepancies in the tender documentation and the invitation in the "Tenders" information system.

In this regard, the prosecutor's office of Polotsk district organized and conducted

verification of compliance with procurement legislation. As a result, it was established that the enterprise had violated the requirements of the decision of the Polotsk District Council of Deputies of 31.03.2015 No. 54 "On determining the procedure for procurement of goods (works, services) at the expense of own funds", which in their essence are offenses that create conditions for corruption.

For example, the local act determining the procedure for such procurement at the enterprise did not establish an obligation to invite manufacturers included in the Register of Manufacturers of Goods (Works, Services) and their Sales Organizations (Official Trade Representatives) to participate in the procurement.

In addition, with the exception of the technical specification, no other documentation for the said procurement was developed. The terms and conditions of delivery, the form, terms and procedure for payment of the goods, the procedure for participants in the procurement procedure to provide clarifications on the provisions of the procurement documentation, and other necessary requirements and conditions were not determined.

The specified procurement organization can contribute to the restriction of competition, as well as the creation of preferences for "preferred" suppliers.

In connection with the noted violations, the prosecutor of Polotsk district submitted a representation to the director of the enterprise to eliminate the violations. Based on the results of the review of the supervision act, the illegal use of funds in the amount of 9.2 billion rubles was prevented, the procurement procedure was canceled, and the guilty persons were brought to disciplinary responsibility.

Significant budget funds are spent on construction, and therefore procurement in this area is of greatest interest to law enforcement officers.

In the first quarter of the current year, the regional prosecutor's offices also identified violations of procurement procedures in the construction sector.

Specifically, due to violations of procurement procedures for construction work on the object "Capital repair with modernization of residential building No. 72 on Pervomayskaya Street in Verkhnedvinsk, 1st commissioning complex" committed by Verkhnedvinsk GRUPP ZhKKh, the district prosecutor issued a relevant representation. As a result of its consideration, the procurement results were canceled, and the use of budget funds in violation of legislation totaling over 5.2 billion rubles was prevented.

One of the grounds for the inspection and cancellation of the procurement procedure was the incorrect choice of procedure type (contract bidding instead of an open competition).

In addition, during the examination of the materials submitted by participants for qualification selection, as well as the minutes of the tender committee meetings, facts of incorrect assessment of the submitted documents were established, as a result of which three construction companies were unreasonably admitted to participate in the bidding.

The regional prosecutor's offices will continue to monitor compliance with legislative requirements when spending budget funds and funds of enterprises with a significant state share in their authorized capital.

Prosecutor of the Department for Combating Corruption
and Organized Crime
of the Vitebsk Region Prosecutor's Office Pavel Zaitsev.