Another scandal: how a security company supplied low-quality uniforms to the Armed Forces

28 January 14:18

A scandal has once again erupted in Ukraine over the supply of low-quality uniforms to the Armed Forces. This time, Alfa-Security, a private security company, was at the center of the scandal, as it decided to participate in public procurement of military uniforms. Oleksandr Sokolovsky, founder of the Textile-Contact trade and production association and head of the All-Ukrainian Association of Light Industry Employers, shared details of the situation on his Facebook page, revealing problems not only with the quality of products but also with the tender system itself, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

“This story proves once again that there are no miracles. If a company enters the market with a price below cost, it will most likely end in failure. And the main problem is not fines, but the fact that our defenders will not be able to fight in such ammunition, or they will be forced to buy quality items at their own expense,” Sokolovsky said.

Military uniforms at half price

In May 2024, the State Logistics Operator (DOT) held a tender for the purchase of more than 203,000 insulation jackets for the military. With an expected cost of UAH 927 per unit, the tender was won by the Ukrainian Business World company with an offer of UAH 776 per unit. As it turned out, the company had no real production capacity. Despite this, a contract for UAH 157 million was signed with the company.

“Apparently, something went wrong, because by the end of August they hadn’t delivered a single product, and the contract was terminated,” explains Oleksandr.

But then the situation became even more critical. The next tender, announced at the end of May, again attracted low bids. This time, the winner was Alfa Security LLC.

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“This is Alfa Security LLC, an importer unknown to the market. The delivery period is until 10/31/24. They do not meet this deadline, and the contract is extended until December 3, 2024. And at the end of the year, with a huge delay, they deliver about 20,000 fleece jackets, which they immediately begin to distribute to the soldiers. And at the end of the year, despite the disruption of the supply (and future penalties), they receive an advance payment to the treasury account and extend the contract with them until February 28, 2025,” Sokolovsky said.

Uniforms of the Armed Forces that do not meet the requirements

The supplied fleece quickly caused complaints. The military began to order high-quality jackets from domestic manufacturers.

“Then the volunteers addressed the FEU Committee for Defense Procurement of Light Industry with an official request and even provided samples of these strange fleece jackets. To ensure the objectivity of the independent investigation, the FEU sent them for independent testing to three different state-accredited laboratories,” said the head of the All-Ukrainian Association of Light Industry Employers.

As it turned out, the products from Alfa Security did not meet the approved technical specifications.

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“Independent tests in three accredited laboratories revealed numerous violations,” says Sokolovsky, “For example, there is no anti-pilling coating, which makes the product quickly lose its appearance. The thickness of the fabric is too thin, which reduces the thermal insulation properties. In addition, the air permeability and moisture resistance are impaired.”

Such discrepancies significantly reduce the functionality of the jackets, which is critical for the military in the field.

Problems with control

“The Federation of Employers of Ukraine proposed to officially inspect the products already delivered to Alfa Security (of course, the part that has not yet been issued) and, if the independent findings are confirmed, to force them to exchange this junk for quality products, even if they have already been paid and now there will be a problem getting the money back. But I am sure that experienced DOT lawyers will cope with this,” he said.

The expert points out that suppliers’ quality control in Ukraine has its limitations. Representatives of the Quality Control Center (QCC) cannot check the compliance of materials with the approved technical specifications without a special laboratory. Their conclusions are based on documents provided by the supplier.

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“It is very unfortunate when irresponsible suppliers either replace the product at the stage of delivery to the laboratory or even engage in direct falsification and create a qualitative fake test report. If that’s what happened in this story, I hope conclusions will be drawn (including for the future),” Sokolovskyi emphasizes.

How a security firm became an importer of military uniforms for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Sokolovskyi said that officially, Alfa Security is registered as a private security service with an additional specialization in electrical work.

But it decided to try its hand at public tenders. And, as the result showed, not in the most successful way.

“But apparently, instead of developing their own production and learning how to sew complex products in a timely manner according to very complicated technical specifications of the Ministry of Defense, they decided to make a little extra money by importing and unfair competition. For some reason, these unfortunate importers always think that Turkey, China, and Vietnam have everything covered. Until they are faced with the fact that they promise everything is cheap and of high quality, but in reality it turns out “well, sorry, we did the best we could.” But for some reason, it’s not the suppliers who end up suffering, but the soldiers in the trenches,” the expert emphasizes.

Sokolovskyi calls for systemic changes in public procurement.

“To work systematically and be economically independent, Ukraine needs its own economy. Unfortunately, we are slowly losing it in the pursuit of cheap imports in public procurement. And for some reason, the state and society begin to see the need for their own producers only when there are significant logistics disruptions due to either the Covid or the outbreak of war,” he concludes.

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Остафійчук Ярослав
Editor