Trade Granit Invest LLC, a company linked to the former Trade Commodity group of Andriy Adamovskyy and former Yanukovych government official Vladyslav Yakubovskyy, is trying to disrupt food procurement by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This was reported by Suspilne with reference to the press service of the State Logistics Operator (SLO), a state agency that meets the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in food, clothing and ammunition and fuel oil.
"Today, it became known about the ruling of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal (panel of judges consisting of Volodymyr Kuzmenko, Yaroslav Vasylenko, Olena Hanechko), according to which the court partially satisfied the claims of Trade Granit Invest LLC to challenge the requirements of the food procurement procedures announced by the State Logistics Operator on 2 February," the article says.
The SLO noted that the company is an existing supplier of food to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, which is not properly fulfilling its obligations. At the same time, during the trial, the plaintiff noted that he had no other contracts other than with the Ministry of Defence.
Currently, SLO lawyers are studying the details. The appeal concerned a stage of the procurement process that has already passed, so all previously announced procurement procedures will be held as usual. The bids will be opened today, 21 February.
Among the requirements that did not suit the current suppliers of the Ministry of Defence were:
- a ban on bidding for suppliers who failed to fulfil their obligations to the Ministry of Defence in 2022-2023,
- the need to disinfect warehouses,
- the availability of at least 15 warehouses due to security requirements.
Instead, the decision included the plaintiff's proposal to have warehouses with a total area of at least 2,000 sq.m.
According to the publication, earlier the Kyiv District Administrative Court dismissed the claims filed by Trade Granit Invest LLC and Cross Prime LLC regarding the appeal of the tender procedures.
On 19 February, Trade Granit Invest LLC filed an appeal to challenge the earlier court decision.
According to investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov of Nashi Hroshi, the panel of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal on 20 February ordered the State Logistics Operator to remove the requirements that prevented one of the previous suppliers of food to the Armed Forces from participating in new procurement worth UAH 10.85 billion. This included the requirement that the warehouses of the bidders be disinfected from mice and insects.
Nashi Hroshi has a copy of the court decision.
The investigators note that the court issued its decision on 20 February, the day before the auctions for the procurement of catering services for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for April-June this year were to take place (UAH 3.76 billion, UAH 3.07 billion, UAH 0.05 billion, UAH 0.42 billion, UAH 0.35 billion, UAH 0.49 billion, UAH 0.05 billion, UAH 1.05 billion, UAH 1.05 billion, UAH 0.28 billion, UAH 0.28 billion).
According to the court's decision, which is not subject to appeal, the State Operator of the Logistics is no longer entitled to require bidders to provide evidence of disinfestation and deratization works at storage facilities in 2023. It is also not allowed to require the use of cash registers in at least 50% of the declared warehouses.
In addition, the court prohibited the company's failure to fulfil its obligations to supply food to the military under previous contracts during the invasion to be considered a reason for not being allowed to participate in the bidding.