Russia sues to void $11M medical facility contracts over forged documents
PrimaMedia, April 22 – The Primorsky Territory Prosecutor's Office has filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Court seeking to invalidate three state contracts for the construction and reconstruction of medical facilities in the region. The total amount of unjust enrichment claimed for recovery stands at 995,784,801 rubles ($11.3 million), according to the court docket.
The claim was brought to protect the interests of the Primorsky Territory, a public-law entity. The defendants in the case are the Primorsky Territory Capital Construction Authority (a state budgetary institution and the contracting authority) and Mir Ventilyatsii LLC (the contractor). The dispute centers on three contracts signed between these organizations.
The first contract involved the design, construction, and commissioning of a new division of Vladivostok Polyclinic No. 1, a state healthcare institution in Vladivostok. Its cost, including amendments, rose to 739 million rubles ($8.4 million). The second contract covered the construction of the Mikhailovka Central District Hospital in the village of Mikhailovka, with its price later increased to 1.1 billion rubles ($12.5 million). The third contract provided for the development of technical documentation and construction work on an annex to the Veterans' War Hospital, valued at 192 million rubles ($2.2 million).
During an audit of the contracting procedure, investigators found that the procurement notices had included specific requirements for bidders, mandating prior experience in construction and reconstruction projects. To meet these criteria, Mir Ventilyatsii LLC submitted a contract for the construction of a "single-story milking parlor for two operators," allegedly commissioned by Veliy Trading House LLC, the Arbitration Court of Primorsky Territory's press service reported.
However, according to the prosecutor's office, the director of Veliy Trading House LLC denied ever signing such a contract with Mir Ventilyatsii, stating that all construction work at the site had been carried out by a different contractor. The oversight authority thus concludes that the contracting firm had provided falsified documents to the client in order to meet procurement requirements and secure the right to sign the multimillion-ruble contracts.
Under these circumstances, the prosecutor's office argues that the contracts in question are void ab initio (null and void from the outset) and has therefore filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Court of Primorsky Territory.
