Tent of millions: The passport company paid contract by the Svechla Ministry under indictment for tax evasion

At the end of last year, Kosovo was in a crisis, as the state was left without supplies for passports, ID and driver's license. Thus, thousands of citizens were deprived of the right to go out of Kosovo for their needs. This violation of their right had come from the mismanagement of a supply tender with the documents that had been made by the ministry leading it, Jelal Svechla. Seeing that no longer can be realised the open tender that invited any company interested in the race to make the supply of passports, IDs and driver's license, the Ministry of Internal Affairs quickly realised a contract by inviting only one company to negotiate.

In December 2022, MPB contracted with German company “Verdos GmBH?” for “Fourning with blanco documents, passports, IDs and driver license”.

The contract has been linked to negotiated procedure, without publication of contract reporting, avoiding fundamental principles of procurement, in particular transparency and competition.

Periscope has discovered that Kosovo Customs, towards the company “Verridos GmBH Kosovo Branch Branch in Kosovo” has done criminal rowing in February 2021 for not having the right use of goods. Criminal call is for Avoid paying mandatory customs fees.

Periscope has found that connected to this case has been filed. indictment last year.

Without detail, the case has been confirmed by the Constitutional Prosecutor in Pristina.

“In this case we announce that the State Attorney, in 22.08.2022, has filed charges in the direction of criminal activity “Avoiding paying mandatory customs fees or excise duties”, according to Article 312 of KPRK, and the same has delegated to the competent Court for further treatment”, Laureta Ulaj, Media Information and Monitoring Office in Pristina, said.

Periscope has found that the German company, which also has its own branch in Pristina, has not stopped. She can quickly face another charge.

“Verdos GMBH- branch in Kosovo, for passports and ID has declared 1m euros on March 31st 2023, while the value in the export declaration is 560 thousand euros. This dispute, Kosovo Customs is investigating it from documents submitted”, has disclosed about Periscope a well-informed source.

Kosovo's customs has not wanted to respond to the editorial interest in any issue, 2021 criminal speculation against the company, and doubts about the second investigation it began about 5 weeks ago.

How did it happen to be linked unilaterally to the company that has an indictment?

Based on data that is published on E-procurement, the procedure contract negotiated between “Veridos” and MPB has been linked on December 27th, 2022, to a value of 4,021,164.00 euros for supply of blanco documents, passports, IDs and driver's license. The size of the contract is 1 year old, and so is the number of supply to these types of documents. (Decision)

The negotiated procedure without publishing the contract is the procedure which the Accounting Authority uses to negotiate contract terms directly with one or more economic Operator. This is an extraordinary procedure and avoids fundamental principles of procurement, in particular transparency and competition.

Based on the Public Procure Law, participants in the negotiated procedure without publishing the contract announcement should be selected among adequate economic operators, as well as should be invited to participate in contracting authority, with no intention of discrimination against or, in the best of any economic operator.

Meanwhile, based on documents that are published on e-procuration, the MBP has invited the German company to negotiations only.

The contract has been linked to why the ministry has under way realism another tender opened to supply these types of documents. This tender was opened late, when it is considered the long procedures that can be passed to the contract link. It was opened on May 20, 2022, and it envisioned a three-year currency worth 12.5m euros. (Doc)

Only two companies participated, and the ministry decided to assess the two bids as irresponsible, since it considered that neither met the conditions that were set in the tender file for contract links. It's about companies in the “Augetic GmbH race; IN Groups at the value of the 12329261, 27 euros, and Group of Enterprises, “Muhlbauer ID Services GmbH; Ymako KPS, worth 12456071, 43 euros. Amazingly “Kosovo Branch Branch in Kosovo” had not competed for a tender, even though ten years are rewarded almost every time by contract. (Doc)

But, then, both companies complained to the ministry, arguing that they had failed to assess the bids under the law and that both met the terms.

In October of last year, the ministry considered their complaints and formed a commission for reassessation.

This committee did the same, and it declared them irresponsible. MPB completely canceled the procurement process. Then both companies complained to the Procuration Feeding Organization - O The DSA has been forced to suspend its decision to abort until O You've already made a decision. But, the ministry has not expected the OSHP's decision, as the demand for supply with passports was extremely large. So he contracted emergency contracts with the German company, which, except there was a confirmed indictment.

But now an extremely new situation has been created for the ministry and almost unprecedented for public procurement. Why? Periscop explains the situation even further

O The spread outlaws the ministry's decision on this procurement activity

Immediately after complaints by the two companies that were in competition for open tender, O The DS had authorized its two experts to see the evidence. Periscop has reported that experts have found that the MP has illegally annulled this procurement procedure, so they have recommended to the board that the ministry's decision to cancel the tender annulment and the subject be turned into re-evaluation with race bids.

Early February of this year, as Periscope has seen, O panel The EPS has made the decision where it has approved its expert expertise report and recommended that the ministry's decision be annulled. They've demanded that the property be converted to re-evaluation after considering that the bids were responsible, and that the MPB's decision to abort was illegal. (Decision

The ministry has decided to respect the OSHP's decision, even though it has not been able to do so and apply at the Commercial Court in Pristina. So the tender has turned it into re-evaluation again, and this time, as if nothing had happened, both offers have been declared responsible, and on March 31st, 2023 has recommended the contract giving of the company “Augetic GmbH; IN Groupes at large, for it was slightly cheaper than the other bidder. (Decision)

When a evaluation commission once makes the decision to declare two offers irresponsible, and after several months another commission decides to declare responsibility, in normal conditions the ministry would have to take action against one side. So far for the ministry this is a perfectly normal situation.

But the drama isn't over here.

Right after the company was recommended for contract “Augetic GmbH; IN Groupes, a complaint to the ministry, dated April 7th, by failing to comply with this decision has been filed by the company “Muhlbauer ID Services GmbH; Ymako KPS. Immediately, his decision to contract is suspended by the ministry to reconsider the company's demand. On April 7th, complaints have been dismissed, and the ministry has decided to give up the contract itself's decision.

On April 14th, the Muhlbauer group complained to O The EPS, against the ministry's decision, claiming that the winning company did not meet some of the heads of the tender file.

Currently, the ministry has suspended its decision until O The time has come for your decision again. The odds are that the OSHP will make the same decision again, after having declared a company responsible for which the ministry is now determined to contract.

If O The spread makes the decision in favour of the ministry, which is likely to happen, then an almost unprecedented situation in public procurement will be created. The ministry will have two contracts active for supply with passports, IDs and had drivers. And if the contract is to be linked to “Augetic GmbH; IN Group”, the ministry must be responsible for why it has not been legally prosecuted under the law since last year, but it has caused emergency situations, then by linking contract with the company that has a confirmed act of avoidance from paying mandatory customs fees or excise fees, and also against which other investigations have been launched by Kosovo customs, even after the contract is linked.

Because the procedures were not in time, even in half of September 2021, The MPB had been contracting 12 months of negotiations with the German company “Verdos GmbH” for the tender “Emergency Planning with ID documents and maintenance of the” systems. The value of the contract in which passport production has been involved has been 392980 euros. The contract was oversized, and the company had stopped framing, and the ministry operated on very small amounts that remained in stock for emergencies. /M. B- PERISCOP/