10 Aug 2010 15:31

Seventeen criminal cases opened into corrupt purchases of medical equipment

SOCHI. Aug 10 (Interfax) - The Prosecutor General's Office has opened 17 criminal cases in relation to individuals involved in purchasing medical equipment under a state order at inflated prices, head of the Kremlin Control Department Konstantin Chuichenko told President Dmitry Medvedev.

"Corruption elements were involved in organizing some tenders. The Prosecutor General's Office opened 17 criminal inquiries into these facts," he said.

In all, 170 medical tomographs have been purchased for 7.5 billion rubles, he said.

"We have established that budgetary resources were spent extremely ineffectively. Factory prices were inflated 2-3 times," Chuichenko said.