An entrepreneur shared insights on how to combat corruption in defense procurement processes.

Corruption in the defense procurement sector remains one of the most significant threats. The simplified procedures introduced during wartime have a downside: they create opportunities for abuse both by the customer and the contractor. Entrepreneur Oleg Mitrokhin, owner of the company MIK, discussed this in his column.

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The judicial dispute mechanism, even under a simplified procedure, has repeatedly led to the failure of tenders and even deliveries. Additionally, as the entrepreneur reports, in response to his public question about when the Prozorro system would implement court decisions, Deputy Minister of Economy Nadezhda Bigun candidly stated that it would never happen, as the enforcement of court rulings is not provided for in the electronic procurement system.

Therefore, in Mitrokhin's opinion, there is a need to return to a full-fledged tender procedure, including restoring the role of the Antimonopoly Committee as the main arbiter of government procurements. The lack of an option to appeal decisions to the AMC reduces the transparency of procurement processes and opens the door to abuses.

Furthermore, the State Rearmament Operator and other responsible procurement entities must strictly adhere to the principle that large contracts should only be awarded to companies with verified experience and necessary capabilities. Thus, strict oversight of the qualifications of tender participants is required. The participation of one-day firms in the bidding processes leads to delivery failures, the entrepreneur concludes.

Oleg Mitrokhin is a businessman and the owner of MIK. MIK is a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of special clothing for various sectors, particularly for industry, construction, and security.