Democracy Plus (D+), during its monitoring of transparency and regularity in public procurement procedures, finds out that the Ministry of Economy (ME) awarded a contract through special service agreements/contracts to the former head of the procurement office in this ministry, just 76 days after his retirement. 

The contracting of the former head of the procurement office in ME constitutes a violation of legal provisions related to public procurement, specifically the Law on Public Procurement and the Public Procurement Regulation. According to Regulation No. 002/2024 on Public Procurement, Article 57.2, consultants may only be contracted for services that cannot be secured through recruitment procedures under the Law on Public Officials. 

Furthermore, this contract breaches the Law No. 06/L-011 on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Discharge of Public Function. According to Article 18 of this law, a senior official cannot engage in contractual activities for two years after leaving public office. Despite this, the contracted individual signed the contract with ME only seventy-six days after retirement. 

Despite D+’s request to cancel this procedure before its signing—on the grounds that the criteria used were restrictive, preferential, discriminatory, and in violation of public procurement principles, ME disregarded this request and proceeded with the contracting. 

Therefore, in order to strengthen integrity in public procurement and prevent conflicts of interest in discharge of public function, D+ calls on ME to cancel the awarded contract (Prot. No. 1599, dated 01.04.2025) and comply with legal dispositions to ensure fair competition and accountability. Additionally, D+ urges ME to adhere to the legal opinion referenced as AKK-DPKI-06-1457/22, dated 01.07.2022, issued by the Anti-Corruption Agency, which addresses a similar case and clearly outlines the legal standards that should be followed in such situations.