New CBA investigation. Rigged tenders for medical equipment. Six persons detained
An employee of well-known company offering specialist medical equipment and five representatives of healthcare institutions have been detained by the CBA. The investigation concerns bid rigging for medical equipment for hospitals. The total value of orders under investigation, in which irregularities allegedly occurred, now amounts to about PLN 5 million.
Under the supervision of the Regional Public Prosecutor's Office in Wrocław, the officers of the CBA Regional Office in Warsaw have been investigating the dissemination, with the aim of financial gain, of information of material significance for the conclusion of contracts under the conducted tenders and entering into an agreement with other persons to the detriment of institutions for which the tenders were arranged. The investigation covers the years 2019-2020 and was initiated on the basis of own materials gathered by the CBA Regional Office in Warsaw.
In connection with the case, the CBA officers detained six persons, including a representative of a well-known company offering specialist medical equipment and five representatives of healthcare institutions. The operations were conducted in the Mazowieckie, Łódzkie, Wielkopolskie and Lubelskie voivodships. In the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Wrocław, all the detainees were charged with tender collusion.
According to the investigators' findings, a representative of the company supplying medical equipment to healthcare units entered into an informal agreement with employees of the units responsible for the description of the subject of the contract or directly participating in works of tender committees. As a result of the informal talks, public healthcare units announced competitions for the supply of equipment, using criteria prepared by the supplier of such equipment, who was also competing for the award of the contract. That resulted in the tender collusion and dissemination of information related to the tender.
The practice was nationwide, with irregularities occurring in numerous public hospitals. Rescue equipment for new ambulances, including chest compression devices and defibrillators, was purchased in this way. The total value of orders under investigation, in which irregularities allegedly occurred, amounts to about PLN 5 million.
This is the first operation in this case. Further materials are being gathered. More detentions and charges are possible.
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Fot. © alphaspirit/ Photogenica
