SCPC sends two procurement cases to the Prosecutor’s Office — 2005 vacuum tanker paid ten times more and disputed school AC purchase

The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) has forwarded two procurement cases to the Prosecutor’s Office for criminal investigation, one involving a used vacuum tanker bought in 2023 and another concerning the purchase and installation of inverter air-conditioning units at a municipal elementary school in 2024.

Allegations, dates and value

In the vacuum-tanker case, the tender from 2023 was for a vacuum tanker used to maintain water systems in rural areas and was valued at around 100,000 euros. The SCPC says the municipality that conducted the procurement has not been publicly identified by the commission.

According to the complaint lodged with the commission, the vehicle was worth ten times less. The tanker was manufactured in 2005, purchased from Germany and transported into the country just 27 days before the procurement procedure was announced.

Separately, the SCPC found multiple breaches of the Public Procurement Law and violations of the principles of transparency and equal treatment in a 2024 procurement for the supply and installation of inverter air conditioners at a municipal primary school, and identified a risk of corruption in that procedure as well.

The commission decided that both files should be sent to the Prosecutor’s Office so that prosecutors can determine whether criminal charges should be filed and to continue any further investigatory steps.

Photo: press material from the event