Misconduct by Prison Staff Results in 13.122 Million Dram Loss to State Interests

The officers of the Police Chief Department for Combating Organized Crime have uncovered the wrongful actions of employees in the Ministry of Justice’s penitentiary service. This was reported by the police.

According to preliminary data, the person responsible for the commission evaluating the procurement process of the penitentiary service, having abused their official powers, maliciously violated the procedure for conducting public tenders and the requirements for organizing procurement processes, motivated by personal interest to follow the instructions given by their direct superior.

In doing so, during the years 2016-2017, in the phase of tenders announced for the procurement of food supplies, they demanded product samples and certificates from various suppliers who had submitted lower bids, thereby creating artificial barriers for them, unjustly rejecting their applications and signing contracts with suppliers who presented higher bids.

As a result, the state suffered significant damage amounting to 13.122 million drams, and the reputation of the state body was undermined.

Subsequently, a group of officials from the penitentiary service created false minutes regarding the conducted competitions and the rejection of suppliers’ applications, despite the fact that no actual procurement tenders had taken place. These minutes were submitted by the leadership of the material and technical support division of the same service and were later approved by members of the commission endowed with temporary authorizations.

A criminal case has been initiated and sent to the investigative committee for further inquiry.