Sergei Bakeshin has commented on the public procurement of PPE for the RBC

The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia filed a case on the grounds of violation of antitrust laws in relation to St Petersburg Hospital for War Veterans. The reason for the case was the publication by a number of media outlets about the purchase of 500,000 disposable medical protective suits from a single supplier – a newly created advertising agency, which is owned by the company’s staff. The contract price amounted to around 1 billion roubles, despite the fact that, according to the estimates of Novaya Gazeta, the savings in choosing an alternative supplier would have been at least 400 million roubles.

According to the Head of the Dispute Resolution and Insolvency practice at Maxima Legal, Sergei Bakeshin, based on the results of the case, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia may conclude that there is a violation of the law on public procurement. “The law provides for the right to procure from a single provider to provide emergency or emergency medical care or to prevent an emergency. But such a purchase is possible only if the use of conventional competitive methods that require time is impractical. In this case, given the scope of supply, time could have been spent on a tender. The legality of the procurement by one institution for transferring to another also raises doubts”, Sergei commented on the situation for the RBC Petersburg.

To read the full article (in Russian), please see the RBC website >>>