Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Anti-Corruption Agency has identified violations of the law in a state procurement process valued at 6.8 billion soums.

According to the agency, serious breaches were found in tenders organized by Uzbekistan Airports for the supply, installation, and commissioning of body cameras, with a total starting value of 6.8 billion soums.

“The review established that the bids were not fully and objectively evaluated in line with the tender requirements. Affiliated parties participated in the process, and errors were made during the assessment,” the agency’s statement said.

As a result, the procurement commission’s protocols on selecting a winner were annulled, and the collected materials were submitted to law enforcement agencies for further action.

Uzbekistan Airports, in turn, stated that the procurement had been carried out strictly in accordance with public procurement laws and procedures. “All stages of the tender — from the publication of documents to the evaluation of bids — complied with existing regulations. At the time of the procurement, the commission had no information about links between participants,” the company explained.

The final contract amount was 4.3 billion soums including VAT, while the figure of 6.8 billion soums represented the initial starting price, calculated as “the average of collected commercial offers.” Proposals were submitted through the official website.

Uzbekistan Airports also clarified that no direct affiliation between bidders was identified during the evaluation. The third company mentioned in media reports did not actually participate in the tender; it merely shared a registered address with the reserve winner.

“Legislation does not prohibit multiple companies from being registered at the same address, so the commission had no grounds to disqualify the winner. The fact of affiliation between certain companies was only established after the procedure had been completed and the results confirmed,” the company noted.

Based on the Anti-Corruption Agency’s findings and the decision of Uzbekistan Airports, the tender results were declared invalid and the procurement annulled.