A state tender worth 710 million Uzbek soums (approximately $710,000) for developing an online video-conferencing platform to help persons with disabilities access government services in Uzbekistan has come under suspicion of corruption. The Agency for Combating Corruption conducted an investigation, uncovering signs of affiliation between the winning bidder and the reserve winner, raising concerns about potential irregularities in the procurement process.

The tender was held on November 14, 2022, by the Agency for the Development of Medical and Social Services, with an initial price of 737 million soums. The winner was LLC "E." with a bid of 710 million soums, while the sole competitor, LLC "I.", was designated as the reserve winner. The investigation revealed that documents from both bidders were uploaded to a specialized information portal from the same device and IP address, suggesting possible collusion or lack of independent participation.

Further checks showed that the mobile application for the platform, listed on the App Store, identified the public association "I.U" as the developer. It was found that the founder of this association, B.S.S., is the sole director and founder of LLC "I.", the reserve winner. Additionally, the 710 million soums paid by the customer to LLC "E." for platform development were recorded as current expenses, with no measures taken to capitalize the platform on the balance sheet, indicating potential financial mismanagement or violations.

The Agency for Combating Corruption has forwarded the collected evidence to law enforcement agencies for legal action. This case highlights ongoing challenges in combating corruption within Uzbekistan's public procurement system, as previously reported by Kun.uz in other instances of irregularities.

Source: kun.uz