Two chiefs of the Material Reserves Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were detained following searches carried out on Wednesday morning over public procurement rigging, IPN reports.

According to the National Anticorruption Center, it goes to a case of abuse of office involving alleged illegalities committed in the organization of public procurement procedures between 2022 and 2024. Decision makers of the Material Reserves Agency are suspected of having favored particular economic agents to win public tender contests to purchase reserves of fuel oil, wheat, sugar, technical machinery and vehicles. More expensive bids were accepted and additional state budget costs were incurred as a result.

The National Anticorruption Center and the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office are taking measures to identify all the persons involved in the given illegalities and to establish the total damage caused to the state budget. As a result of the searches, the deputy director of the Agency for Material Reserves and the head of the Division for State Material Reserves Management were detained.