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Pharmaceutical companies investigated by NAC
02.08.2013 6600 ViewsTwo big pharmaceutical companieson the country are being investigated by NationalAnticorruption Centre and anticorruption prosecutors on suspicion of committing several offenses relating to the import and sell of medicinal products. According to first estimates, the companies damaged state with more than MDL 90 million by their illegal actions.
Preliminary datashows that companies have imported drugs from China, increasing import price by substituting sites invoice (eg: $ 1price was replaced with $ 4 price of invoice). Specifically: medications were brought by sea from China to the port of Odessa. In Odessa original invoices were replaced with others withhigher price, and the exporter was already an offshore company, then the goods entered Moldova. Thus, the huge batches of drugs came to be sold on the domestic market at prices 3-4 times higher than the original.
FIUof NAC jointly with similar service in Latvia, established that only 60 percent of the funds obtained from imported Chinese medicines were paid, and the rest - 40 percent - were washed by off-shores. Subsequently, directors of the domestic pharmaceutical companies raised the rest of the money from off-shores or cards opened on behalf of third parties.
NAC officersand anticorruption prosecutors conducted 11 searches at offices and warehouses of subjects of the investigation, in order to document the illegal activities of companies. Thus were raised: documents creating offshore companies, bank card opened in Latvian bank, bank statements on offshore company accounts, stamps of Chinese producers and of companies in Transnistria, specifications of goods delivered indicating lower prices for drugs, the draft documents confirming the delivery of goods using double accounting standards.
A criminal prosecution was opened on this case on"money laundering". Other criminal cases will be open for tax evasion, forgery of public documents and practice of entrepreneurship illegal activity. These days, directors of pharmaceutical companies have been put under suspicion by anti-corruption prosecutors.
Poor qualitymedicine imported by the two companies withdrawn from hospitals in Moldova
Medicines Agencyalso found that the medicine imported by one of the companies, "Oxytocinumsol. inj. 5UI/ml" produced by "Sishui Xiekang Pharmaceutical Co.” Ltd China, is inefficient and does not meet oxytocin dosing parameters, which is under the limit declared in the specification of the finished product. Following a decision of the Ministry of Health the practical use of the medicinal product was banned. Thus, drugs worthing about MDL 500 000 had been withdrawn from hospitals.
Fordocumentation of the second aspect of the companies’ activity, the quality of imported pharmaceutical products, the Center conducted several searches at offices, stores and homes of the subjects where detected the primary packaging of medicinal products, labels, ampoules and pills without indicating the name series and the manufacturer.
Another criminal prosecution was started on "causing damage by deceit or breach of trust".
Note:The two pharmaceutical companies have participated in all procurement procedures organized by the state for procurement of medicines to hospitals in Moldova, during the period 2010-2013. Thus, the companies have won 16 auctions, with a number of acquisitions amounting about MDL 100 million, and all types of drugs offered for auctions by listed companies were imported from China by dubious import scheme, described above.