Armenia’s SCPEC to blacklist all unfair companies

YEREVAN, October 15. / ARKA /. Armenia’s State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC) said it will blacklist all the companies caught in unfair activities and will not allow them to participate in future procurement tenders. 

Speaking at SCPEC’s today’s meeting, the anti-trust agency’s head, Artak Shaboyan said large-scale breaches have been revealed in public procurements administered by various government agencies causing significant damage to the state budget.

"From now on we will not be limited to imposing fines and handing the documented breaches to law enforcement authorities. We will blacklist these companies and ban them from participation in future competitions for public procurements," he said.

Late last month President Serzh Sargsyan berated the government for widespread bribery and nepotism in state procurements administered by various Armenian ministries and other government bodies. The president singled out “kickbacks paid at the expense of the state budget” to officials handling procurement tenders. He instructed state prosecutors and the National Security Service to investigate the reported abuses and “go after people who take kickbacks and have their cousins win tenders with twice the prices” offered by other potential suppliers. He stressed that the law-enforcement bodies must start the crackdown from high-level officials.-0-