Translated material
"Saw, shura, saw ..."
In the summer of this year, President Dmitry Medvedev was very outraged when he found out that medical tomographs for Russian hospitals were purchased at high prices. He would be outraged no less if he learned about the public procurement of scientific equipment in some Russian research organizations, and above all in the Russian Academy of Sciences ...
In wounds, expensive devices and large sets of equipment for various purposes are purchased through the so -called centralized purchases. The essence of this system is that the academic institutions that are allocated financing do not receive money in their account and do not conduct tenders. For them, this is done by the RAS itself, which then transmits equipment to the balance of institutions. In the departments of the Russian Academy of Sciences - Ural, Siberian, Far Eastern - such purchases are performed by the Ural branch (URS) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the International Tomographic Center (MTC) of the SB RAS and the Far Eastern Geological Institute (DVGI) of the Far Eastern RAS. The cost of lots in competitions held by these organizations is tens and hundreds of millions of rubles.
In the spring of this year, the newspaper Vedomosti turned to the vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences Academician Alexander Nekipelov , who is responsible for academic finances, with a number of questions regarding the procurement of scientific equipment. The answers of Academician Nekipelov can be read on the RAS website [1] . This is a very eloquent document, and below I will contact it repeatedly. The key question concerned the compliance of world market prices for equipment and prices at which it is purchased in the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Academician of Nekipelov rejected all the speculation that the equipment is purchased at high prices, explaining the possible difference only by various equipment. However, some data question this statement. Here are just a couple of examples.
We will not stand for the price
Example 1. In 2009, Advanced Laboratory Instruments (Great Britain) was delivered by the DVGI of Fear for the Russian Academy of Sciences of the RAS Genetic Sequenger of the 3130XL production of the company Applied Biosystems, the cost of which was almost 23 million rubles. The delivery set included the amplifier of the model 2720 worth 200 thousand rubles. and a set of reagents, the cost of which can be estimated at a maximum of 3.6 million rubles.
A similar model of a sequenger without reagents and amplifier at the end of 2008 of the NTC “Progress-Technology” set the medical and genetic center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (RAMS). The cost of the contract was only 5 million rubles. In October 2009, the Research Institute of Experimental Medicine of the RAMS acquired the same sequenger model complete with an amplifier of 2720 from Helikon for 7.6 million rubles, and in November 2009, the RAMS of the RAMS was received by the 3130XL sevener with a set of reagents from Khimekspert LLC for 7 million rubles. From this we can conclude that the difference between the market price and the price at which this sequenger went to the DVGI of the Far Eastern Railways is at least 12 million rubles.
Example 2 . At the beginning of 2009, the Institute of Biomedical Chemistry (IBMC) of the RAMS signed a contract with Advanced Laboratory Instruments for the supply of scientific equipment, the list of which includes two crystates with a deep frost device, an automatic microtoma and a vacuetom of Microm International GmbH cost of 130 thousand. euro everyone. For comparison: in June 2008, the NIS of the RAM nutrition acquired a similar cryostat from Karl Zeiss LLC for 1 million 770 thousand rubles, which at the rate of that time is about 50 thousand euros. If you evaluate the difference in the price of these two purchases due to different configurations, then it can be no more than 10 thousand euros. In reality, prices differ by 80 thousand euros.
A detailed description of these, as well as other similar transactions with a clear excess of prices, where the necessary links, contract numbers, calculations, etc. are given, can be found on the newspaper’s website on the link [2] . In different cases, the excess is from 5-10% to 150-200%. Of course, these examples do not even give an approximate idea of what share of transactions for the purchase of scientific equipment is at high prices. It is not often possible to find the desired price list for components or information about a similar transaction with which you can compare the desired price list on the Internet. Therefore, the above examples in themselves cannot serve as the basis for global estimates of overstating prices for scientific equipment, but they, to put it mildly, give an occasion to doubt the sincerity of the answers of the academician of Nekipelov.
But the story, because of which, in fact, I began to deal with the problem of purchasing equipment. It occurred in the organization where I work - the Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Two years ago, our institute allocated funding for the purchase of a jamr spectrometer. The institute requested commercial offers for two competing manufacturers, Brooker and Ophys. According to the configuration, the Variana proposal was much more attractive (I have copies of commercial offers from these two companies for the same amount). “Ophy” offered the configuration of the device, which made it possible to conduct a much wider range of research. At the same time, the spectrometers of these manufacturers in quality, reliability and functional capabilities are not inferior to each other, at least when it comes to standard instrument configurations. And the acute competition, which these two companies lead around the world, plays into the hands of scientists - this allows you to very effectively bargain and reduce the price of devices.
The directorate of the institute prepared a detailed letter to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Acaduinthorg", an organization that is engaged in the supply of equipment to academic institutes. In this letter, these two commercial offers were compared in detail and the request was stated more attentively to the proposal of the “option” company when considering applications that will be submitted after the announcement of the competition. However, this request did not have any effect, and the ACCACTORG set the Brooker spectrometer at the Institute with a minimum configuration. Of course, the administration of the institute did not authorize me to betray all this publicity, I do this on my own behalf as a witness of this very indicative story.
In their questions, Vedomosti was interested in academician Nekipelov, why RAS acquires spectrometers of Brooker only, although “option” in most cases can offer similar quality, but cheaper equipment (see example 6 by link [2] ). The academician of Nekipelov replied that the reason for this lies in the absence of a well -established service for “option” spectrometers in Russia. To find out if this is really so, I called Varianov users at the Saratov State University, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, the Moscow Institute of Plastics, the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis named after Topchieva RAS and MFTi. From these conversations, I can make an unequivocal conclusion that there are no systemic problems in servicing spectrometers “Option” in Russia. In addition, as a specialist in the field of JAMR-spectroscopy, I know very well that in countries with a low level of corruption Brooker, it quite successfully competes with Variana, not only in product quality, but also in prices. Of course, the pricing policy in a particular country is the internal business of the manufacturer, and no one has the right to indicate something to him. But the question arises - why are Russian scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences forced to buy more expensive equipment? But high prices are not even the most interesting.
Swiss Style horns and hooves
If you look closely at the companies through which finances intended for the purchase of scientific devices are held, then several extremely curious details attract attention. Despite the fact that almost all Western manufacturers of scientific equipment have their official dealers in Russia, a centralized purchase is only through the chain of intermediaries in the Russian Academy of Sciences. The main mediator is the above -mentioned acadinator. In addition to acadintorg, MTC SB RAS and DVGI of the RAS of the Russian Academy of Sciences also purchase equipment through other companies. According to the register of state contracts, recently the main suppliers includes Advanced Laboratory Instruments (Great Britain), Htlab AG (Switzerland), Interlab Inc (California, USA, not to be confused with Moscow "Interlab"), Alleati AG (Switzeria), Rantek LLC (Novosibirsk), Canada Breath Inc. (Canada). The diagrams show the fractions of the supply of these companies in monetary terms to these two academic organizations from the beginning of 2009 to the present.
What unites all these intermediary companies? Firstly, the fact that there is practically no information about them on the Internet. Only one of these companies (HTLAB AG) has its own website, which presents a minimum of data on its activities. It looks quite suspicious, since it is difficult to imagine that large companies engaged in the supply of equipment were not interested in advertising and expanding the circle of their customers. And Alleati AG does not even have its own mailing address, a certain Swiss consulting company receives correspondence for it.
These companies are also united by the fact that they all conclude transactions only with a very narrow circle of customers. Exceptions are single. And if you analyze the list of customers of these companies, then except for the MTC SB RAS and DVGI of the RAS RAS, for some reason the Institute of Biomedical Chemistry (IBMC) im. V.N. Orekhovich RAMS. Why this is exactly this institution, there are only guesses. Finally, these companies, apparently, are not engaged in maintenance, service, and the installation of the scientific equipment that they supply. This is done directly by the manufacturers themselves or their authorized dealers. And these firms only pass money through their accounts.
Many of these companies (it is possible that everything) are somehow connected with each other. This is clearly demonstrated by the tender for the purchase of scientific equipment with a total value of about 1.6 billion rubles, announced by IBMH RAMS in early 2009 (the notification number of tenders on the public procurement website 090120/003336/36). This tender consisted of 15 different lots. Applications for participation in it were submitted by three companies - Advanced Laboratory Instruments, Htlab AG and Interlab Inc. Applications from these firms were distributed in such a way that for each lot there was only one application from any one of these companies. Accordingly, for all 15 lots, the competition was declared failed, and contracts were concluded at the maximum price. Such a distribution of applications by lots clearly could not be a simple accident. Obviously, the actions of these intermediaries were coordinated by someone. However, the relationship between Advanced Laboratory Instruments and Htlab AG is easy enough - the fact is that until February 14, 2008, Advanced Laboratory Instruments was called htlab uk (data from the site http://jordans.co.uk). It is interesting to note that in some competitions these companies compete with each other. But there is reason to believe that this supposedly competition is simply played out, see example 7 in the file [2] .
A few more eloquent strokes to this picture "horns and hooves." According to the site moneyhouse.ch,
The head of the company HTLAB AG is a certain lawyer Benno Hafner, who is simultaneously the head of another 22 other companies. (Well, how can I not recall the famous Zits-chairman pound!) The phone number of Rantek LLC (Novosibirsk), indicated in the state contracts, for some reason coincides with the official phone of one of the employees of the MTS SB RAS, which is presented on the website of the RAS. Frankly, this is far from the last employee of this organization. And on the website IC.GC.ca you can find out the names of the leaders of the Canadian company Canada Breath Inc. Two leaders, a man and a woman, and their names, as it is easy to guess, Russians. With the help of the simplest search on the Internet, a man can be identified as one of the employees of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry named after A.V. Nikolaev SB RAS in Novosibirsk, who previously worked at the MTC SB RAS. What, however, the business grip has Novosibirsk scientists! Manta.com website indicates the name of the president of the California Interlab Inc., and it is also Russian, but it is impossible to establish the personality of this person, using only the Internet.
Of course, the purchase of devices through these strange intermediaries in itself is not a crime. However, such an interesting picture is drawn. RAS and IBMH RAMS are acquired by a significant share of equipment through dummy companies, which are created only for well-defined financial flows. Although all these companies are registered in different parts of the world, their activities, apparently, are managed by one group of persons who are in Russia and are directly related to the distribution of finances for the purchase of scientific equipment. Which is very important to note that calculations with equipment manufacturers are carried out outside the Russian Federation. Moreover, the main mediator in the purchase of equipment, the academicitor, a significant share (which accurately-I don’t know) of its transactions also does not directly conclude with the manufacturers or their distributors, but with a number of such dummy intermediaries, including some of the above.
The newspaper Vedomosti asked Academician Nekipelov and the question of intermediaries. The academician left a direct answer, advising to contact the Academy of Foreign Trade, MGIMO, etc. Although I have no experience in foreign trade, I still risk making an assumption why all this is needed. The fact is that most Western manufacturers are respectable companies with very transparent accounting. They cannot directly pay multimillion kickbacks with all the desire, these are serious reputational risks. If you use additional Russian intermediaries, then regulatory authorities can compare the prices of contracts, for example, acadinotorg with data on foreign economic activity and easily calculate the price difference. But if a foreign mediator is involved in the chain, then it is almost impossible to find out the price of the contract between him and the manufacturer (and possibly some other intermediaries abroad). The difference between the procurement price of an intermediary and the sale price for an academor is settled in the foreign account of an intermediary, and it is possible that it is displayed from there to offshore firms. This is the meaning of the whole scheme. And the nature of the answers of Academician Nekipelov shows that these, say delicately, suspicious transactions are deliberately patronized by the highest leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Say, is this only speculation? But then I would like to get an intelligible answer, without references to MGIMO, what are the advantages of this procurement scheme. The advantages are not for academinor and other intermediaries, but for us, Russian scientists for whom this equipment is purchased. Until the convincing answer is received, suspicions of fraud, leading to overstating prices for devices, will only grow stronger.
If the director was me
What can be done so that the “cut” of the scientific budget stops or at least its scale decreases? One famous person in a similar situation said: "We must plant." However, after all, it is necessary not to plant technical performers, but by those who, with their power, allows them to “saw”. And such people in Russia are planted infrequently. And, on the heart, it is necessary to start here not with the Academy of Sciences. By the way, a number of regulatory authorities are aware of problems with the procurement of scientific equipment. Why they do nothing - you can only guess.
The main task now is to achieve such a change in the public procurement procedure that would minimize the possibility of “sawing”. The 94th Federal Law, which regulates the public procurement procedure, should not equally regulate the purchases of expensive devices and, subsequently, stationery. The purchase of high -tech equipment has its own specifics, which is not taken into account. For example, it is a mistake to consider the “sharpener” of the terms of technical assignment to a certain type of device. Dear scientific devices are very complex, often unique, not all parameters can be unequivocally formalized, and this creates loopholes for unscrupulous suppliers. Therefore, it is much more reasonable in terms of reference to simply write a specific brand, manufacturer and complete set.
The main possibility of overstating prices is not this, but in the fact that the confused terms of terms and purchase of large sets of equipment allow you to indicate any number of the auction as the initial price of the auction. On the other hand, all these host of intermediaries will immediately disappear if the equipment will be purchased for a real market price, there will be nothing to feed on. Limiters here may be an independent price examination, comparison of prices with the prices of similar procurement, inclusion in the competitive documentation of commercial offers of manufacturers or their official dealers, as well as a mandatory indication of the price for each device separately both in the competitive documentation and in the register of state contracts.
Another possible measure is a ban on centralized equipment. The effectiveness of expenses will increase significantly if scientists themselves choose and buy devices for themselves. To do this, it is necessary to transfer money allocated for the purchase of devices to the accounts of institutes. The effectiveness of this method of purchases is clearly demonstrated by the story of the St. Petersburg scientist Sergei Krivovichev [3] .
Еще одна мера, которая может оздоровить ситуацию, — требование указывать в заявке на участие в торгах субподрядчиков, привлекаемых для выполнения работ по монтажу, наладке и сервису приборов. Это поможет выявить «виртуальные» компании-пустышки, которые используются лишь для перекачивания денег и которые не имеют штата инженеров. В целом увеличение прозрачности и открытости процедуры госзакупок — это самый действенный способ борьбы с коррупцией. Это можно делать и без изменения 94-ФЗ. Никто ведь не мешает Академии наук публиковать каждый год на своем сайте список закупаемых приборов дороже, скажем, 1 млн руб., их основную комплектацию и цены, список контрагентов академических организаций, занимающихся закупками оборудования и т.п. Но РАН этого делать не желает.
Наверняка есть еще ряд технических решений, которые были бы полезны. Но всё это будет только полумерами до тех пор, пока сами ученые будут считать себя послушным стадом.
Бойся равнодушных
Конкретные факты, приведенные выше, не были, конечно, известны широкой публике, но, по большому счету, никаких америк они не открывают. С завышенными ценами и странными контрактами сталкивались очень многие, это всё не является большим секретом. Год назад мы вместе с Михаилом Гельфандом опубликовали статью «Прозрачный омут Академинторга» [4] , где в первый раз публично поставили вопрос о возможных махинациях в сфере закупок оборудования в РАН. В процессе подготовки материала мы услышали несколько историй, напоминающих ту, что произошла в моем институте (см. выше). Но никто не хотел рассказывать об этом публично. Этих людей можно понять. Я знаю, о чем говорю, — мне самому приходится в полной мере ощущать очень сильное «неравнодушие», которое администрация моего института проявляет ко мне при каждом удобном случае. Близкая ситуация, насколько я понимаю, и у коллеги из ИРЭ РАН Игоря Броневого , который тоже посмел публично рассказать о своем опыте сотрудничества с Академинторгом.
Но дело, увы, не только в нежелании влезать в конфликты и ставить под вопрос свою работу в науке. В Академии есть не столь малое число сотрудников, особенно среди тех, кто занимает разного рода административные посты, которые прекрасно осознают, что их обирают, но которых это всё… очень даже устраивает. Как нельзя лучше этот феномен описан в пьесе Евгения Шварца «Дракон».
В ответах академика Некипелова упоминается коллективное письмо ученых Казанского научного центра РАН президенту РАН Юрию Осипову , в котором те « подтвердили высокий технический и качественный уровень ЯМР-спектрометров фирмы “Брукер ”». Интересно, с чего это вдруг казанские ученые собрались и написали коллективное письмо президенту РАН именно о высоком качестве спектрометров «Брукер»? На самом деле всё просто: это письмо появилось после упомянутой выше статьи «Прозрачный омут Академинторга». Я этого письма не видел, но догадаться, в чем его суть, не так-то сложно. Казанским ученым надо было отмежеваться от этой статьи и ее автора и в письменном виде заверить академическое руководство в своей лояльности. Академинторг и Ко могут спать спокойно.
Очень плохо, что часть денег на оборудование уходит из госбюджета в неизвестном направлении. Но еще хуже то, что научное сообщество всё больше и больше поглощается атмосферой конформизма и лицемерия. В такой атмосфере наука не может развиваться свободно и эффективно. Да, в Академии наук всё еще есть первоклассные научные коллективы, есть достижения мирового уровня. Но как организационная структура РАН глубоко больна и выйти из кризиса сама не сможет. Чем дольше будет продолжаться это медленное загнивание, тем будет хуже и Академии, и всей стране.
Автор выражает благодарность коллегам, оказавшим помощь в поиске и проверке фактов, представленных в данной статье.
[1] Ответы академика А. Д. Некипелова на вопросы газеты «Ведомости»
www.ras.ru/news/shownews.aspx?id=7a8bc0ee-c458-40a8-9984-c07e42642383
[2] Список из девяти различных госконтрактов МТЦ СО РАН, ДВГИ ДВО РАН и ИБМХ РАМН, в которых можно продемонстрировать завышение цен на закупаемое оборудование www.trv-science.ru/2010/12/07/akademintorg-primery/
[3] «Как мы покупали CCD-дифрактометр», ТрВ-Наука № 43, 8 декабря 2009 г.,
www.trvscience.ru/2009/12/08/kak-my-pokupali-ccd-difraktometr/
[4] «Прозрачный омут Академинторга», ТрВ-Наука № 43, 8 декабря 2009 г., www.trvscience.ru/2009/12/08/prozrachnyj-omut-akademintorga/