[ad_1]
“It just came to our attention then. They are usually valid for a year and a half. We are already a little worried that they are being used very slowly, and we are already trying to advertise,” said H. Ulevičius during the meeting.
After the meeting, he explained to journalists that part of those tests had been used in Klaipėda, Nemenčinė, the Marijampolė Hospital had used thousands of them, and ten thousand of those tests had been assigned by Kaunas clinics for the investigation.
The acting head of the laboratory explained that the use of those studies was initially discontinued because these tests did not show whether a person could infect others with coronavirus.
“They only show the presence or absence of antibodies. That is, if a person is sick. “A sick person may not have antibodies, and a carrier may have antibodies, but from this serological test it cannot be assessed whether a person is contagious,” said H. Ulevičius.
He himself said he only found out about the evidence once it was purchased. At the time of the acquisition, the laboratory was headed by Vytautas Zimnickas, and H. Ulevičius was his deputy. He assured that the manager had not consulted with him about such purchases. H. Ulevičius began to temporarily manage the institution after the death of V. Zimnickas.
The FNTT has launched an investigation.
According to the BNS, the Special Tasks Board of the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) has launched a pre-trial investigation into the € 6 million case. The purchase of rapid tests for coronavirus by the National Laboratory of Public Health (NSPL) worth € 1 billion.
As far as BNS knows, the pre-trial investigation was initiated due to the activities of the company that provides the evidence, Profarma.
The office said Wednesday it is investigating possible fraud, forgery of documents, money laundering and misuse.
“During the pre-trial investigation, searches were carried out, documents relevant to the investigation of the institutions and interested persons were seized, four people were arrested and suspected of them,” the service said in a press release.
According to the Public Procurement Portal, the National Laboratory of Public Health and Profarma signed 6 million. 50,000 contract for the purchase of rapid tests.
NVSPL representative Simona Kalvelytė confirmed to BNS that the rapid tests were purchased from the Profarma company, their supply to medical institutions has not been suspended at present.
“They bought such tests, a contract was signed with Profarma … those tests are issued to medical institutions, the ministry is informed according to the procedure, this is how it works. This does not stop at this time, the tests have been validated, that’s all I can tell you, “said S. Kalvelytė.
According to her, more than 6 million. The contract for a billion euros was fully fulfilled, and the tests were obtained with quality certificates.
“The evidence is validated and we have the documents. I say as far as I know, maybe I will find something different during the investigation, but with current knowledge, everything is fine with the evidence,” he said.
According to S. Kalvelytė, FNTT did not provide much information about the investigation, of course, only that it is being carried out.
“In fact, I’m not really sure what that study is about and whether it affects the quality of the evidence, but it hasn’t stopped issuing it yet,” said an NVSPL spokeswoman.
The adviser to the Minister of Health, Lina Bušinskaitė, stated that the accusations in this investigation were not made against any Ministry employee, and the investigation was initiated due to actions taken after the public procurement of rapid tests.
“As far as we know, officials are clarifying the circumstances that occurred after the end of public procurement, during which rapid tests were purchased,” said L. Bušinskaitė.
According to her, FNTT officials arrived at the Ministry of Health (SAM) on Tuesday night and took procedural steps there, but she said she was unable to provide further information about the ongoing pre-trial investigation.
According to the study, which amounts to 6 million. The company allegedly falsified the documents and provided the buyer with false information about the manufacturer of the rapid tests for COVID-19. The buyer is suspected of possibly being misled for failing to conduct a market investigation and not evaluating the price and market conditions of the purchased goods prior to concluding the contract. After concluding the contract, the funds were transferred to the test provider.
“Attempts were subsequently made to legalize these allegedly fraudulent funds by transferring them to related parties and to the accounts of a company registered in a tax-exempt area,” reports the FNTT.
According to the Office, a temporary restriction on property rights has been applied to illegally obtained funds.
According to data from the Records Center, until this April Profarma’s shareholders were its manager Edita Mištinienė, Aušra Saulytė and Remis Bistras.
At the shareholders’ meeting held in April, it was decided to increase the capital of the company, issue new shares and grant them the right for 400 thousand. Acquire Boston Biopharma Inc., a company registered in the United States.
So far, no completed share transfer transaction has been recorded in the Records Center.
In 2018, Profarma’s sales revenue amounted to 333 thousand LTL. euros The company has not submitted financial statements for 2019 to the Records Center.
The pre-trial investigation is organized and led by prosecutors from the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
There were many bidders at the critical moment
The Special Investigation Service (STT) has also launched another investigation into which the President of the Association of Cancer Patients (POLA) is suspected to have an impact on purchasing purchases. This test no longer refers to nasopharyngeal reagents, but to rapid reagents.
According to the data from the pre-trial investigation, after the purchases, the Š. More than 300 thousand were transferred to Narbutas’ personal bank account several times. euros
The suspect claims to have received this amount legally, BNS wrote.
The acting head of the NVSP laboratory said his tests were not used by his office because they did not have the equipment that was recorded in the Chinese instructions. According to H. Ulevičius, they were used by Kaunas clinics and some private laboratories.
“The director who died could say more. They did not contact me. I was a deputy all the time, but the director attended meetings every day: the government, the ministry. He didn’t say anything to me. It was only then that he said that “I signed the contract”, (…) then with our specialists we began to study what, through reagents. The worst is not there (evidence_, because the means of transportation was also put together. (…) But that study takes longer. We don’t have the type of equipment that was written in the instructions in Chinese (…). therefore, we said that we will not use it – said H. Ulevičius.
In general, the specialist in charge of the temporary laboratory now recalled that at a time when there was a great need for protective equipment, testing, there were many all kinds of suggestives.
“But I cannot attack the embrace of all the bidders. Because there are bidders who do not know, but only see their earnings to insert any product at this urgent time,” said H. Ulevičius.
Ensures that all requirements have been answered
Deputy Prime Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas explained that the decisions were initially made in consultation with the expert working groups in the COVID-19 Committee, and later, if necessary, in the Government.
“The Ministry of Health and other institutions did everything according to procedures. (…) At that time, in March, the situation was dramatic, there were races all over the world, not only between states but also between companies. There are huge logistical challenges. Conclusions will be drawn. (…) It is worth responding to the situation urgently, “Ž said. Vaičiūnas.
It is strictly prohibited to use the information published by DELFI on other websites, in the media or elsewhere, or to distribute our material in any way without consent, and if consent has been obtained, DELFI must be cited as the source.
[ad_2]
