In Karakalpakstan, violations in public procurement worth 32 billion soums have been uncovered

Violations in public procurement worth 32 billion soums have been uncovered in Karakalpakstan.

In Karakalpakstan, violations were identified in 317 public procurements totaling 32.1 billion soums. The audit covered 345 tenders worth approximately 41 billion soums, including procurements in which specialists saw signs of collusion between customers and participants.

According to the Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Protection, the audits took place from January to June 2026. In addition to the general analysis of procurement, specialists separately reviewed 200 tenders worth 1.6 billion soums related to laboratory testing of construction materials and quality assessment of road works.

It was in these procurements that specialists identified signs of collusion between customers and individual participants. In particular, companies divided regions among themselves, and some of them regularly participated in bids together, allowing the same contractor to emerge as the winner.

The coordinated actions were also indicated by the participants' price proposals. Identical and synchronized pricing approaches were found in the bids.

During the review of documents, specialists also identified other violations. In a number of cases, laboratory test reports were drawn up even before the bidding process was held and the contract was concluded. For some contracts, invoices were issued on the day of registration with the Treasury or the following day.

Based on the results of the audit, a special commission established a violation of Article 29 of the Law "On Competition", which prohibits actions that restrict competition. The responsible parties were issued mandatory instructions to eliminate the violations and prevent their recurrence.

In addition, administrative protocols were drawn up against the officials responsible for the identified violations. The materials were forwarded to the courts.