Uzbekistan: $ 670,000 was stolen by health care officials in Samarkand
The Anti-Corruption Agency has checked the spending of budget funds in Samarkand regional health department and its branches. The amount of identified theft and abuse amounted to seven billion sums ($ 670,000 at the current exchange rate). The information is being analyzed by the Prosecutor General’s Office, but there is no information about the detention of officials.
It turned out that regional medical institutions purchased medicines for 14.9 billion sums. Alternative offers from other suppliers made it possible to purchase medicines for 9.2 billion sums. As a result, 5.6 billion sums were overpaid for medicines.
State purchases for 4.9 billion sums and purchases of goods for 186.1 million sums were carried out in violation of the requirements of the law. During 9 months of 2020, theft, financial errors and shortages for a total of 1.3 billion sums were committed in the regional health care system.
Samarkand branch of the Republican Scientific Center for Emergency Medical Aid has paid more than 124.5 million sums in reward to 48 employees who were not part of the ambulance teams.
Based on the collected documentation, the Prosecutor’s Office of Samarkand region initiated criminal cases under Articles 167 (embezzlement by misappropriation) and 205 (abuse of power or official powers) of the Criminal Code.
Currently, investigative actions are being carried out against the heads of the regional health departments and the Center for Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-being of Samarkand region.
Earlier, ACCA wrote that 354 babies under the age of one year and thirteen women in labor died in Samarkand region during eight months of 2019. The reason was corruption, lack of medicines and equipment, and also the criminal negligence in the performance of the medical staff duties. A total check of maternity hospitals began with a series of tragic events from February 28 to March 1, when the deaths of five newborns were recorded.
Samarkand region “distinguished itself” by cases of child substitution, illegal abortions and the sale of babies. A working group of the regional administration made public the facts of the neglected state of the entire health care system with an unprecedented openness for Uzbekistan.
