{"id":34617,"date":"2023-02-20T18:49:45","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T16:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/?p=34617"},"modified":"2023-03-03T15:10:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T13:10:20","slug":"secret-contract-how-serbia-bought-medical-equipment-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/secret-contract-how-serbia-bought-medical-equipment-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Contract: How Serbia Bought Medical Equipment During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a press conference on 15 March 2020, Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong> announced that a state of emergency had been declared in the country. He described the fight against COVID-19, which was gaining momentum at the time, as “a war against an invisible enemy that our country must defeat”.<\/p>

While people\u2019s lives were being radically changed, the state was in a hurry to acquire as much medical equipment as possible.<\/p>

The National Health Insurance Fund <\/em>(RFZO) had already announced two public procurements for the purchase of masks, gloves and disinfectants worth more than 1.4 billion RSD.<\/p>

However, as early as 16 March, RFZO suspended<\/a> these procurements. The state then decided to buy all medical equipment in secret, away from the public eye.<\/p>

Now, after three years, people still do not know what happened on 16 March, how the government spent their money, what was purchased at the time and from whom.<\/p>

The Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia<\/em> (CINS) can reveal one of the strictly confidential contracts, worth more than 64 million EUR, which RFZO concluded and which provides some of the answers to these questions. It also shows what lies behind the secret Government<\/em> decisions, which made secret any information regarding the procurement of medical equipment during the pandemic.<\/p>

“It is completely clear that the Government<\/em> exceeded its authority and that it hid more information from the public than was necessary,” Nemanja Nenadi\u0107<\/strong> from Transparency Serbia<\/em> told CINS.<\/p>

Billions under the radar<\/h2>

In the midst of the pandemic, RFZO decided at meetings within that institution what it would be acquiring and from whom. CINS learned from several unofficial sources that companies that have acquired or can acquire some of the much-needed equipment were invited to the meetings. The state promised them advance payments and transportation assistance. CINS\u2019s sources claim that representatives of the Security Information Agency<\/em> (BIA) were also present at the meetings.<\/p>

A representative of Sinofarm<\/em> was also present at one of those meetings. Although it shares its name with the Chinese company that produces vaccines, it is actually a family business from Belgrade that has been in existence for thirty years. Just one day after the introduction of the state of emergency, Sinofarm<\/em> concluded a contract with RFZO worth 7.6 billion RSD, that is, more than 64 million EUR (including VAT). For this amount, they sold over 700,000 masks, almost 1.5 million hazmat suits, about 2 million coats and 13 million medical aprons to the state.<\/p>