The Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has published for the identification and mitigation of corruption risks in the procurement of goods, work, or services to provide for state or municipal needs.

To avoid any potential abuse by various participants of the procurement, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has prepared a draft order of the Russian Prosecutor General “On organising the prosecutor’s supervision over whether the procurement legislation is observed”.

The Russian Government is taking in connection with the changed procedures for exercising state control over tariffs.

The import substitution policy has been actively implemented as a way to address the sanctions since 2014. From then on, the state procurement area has been changed repeatedly, and owing to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic it has again become a priority to support domestic manufacturers.

To avoid potential abuse on the part of foreign investors, Federal Law No. 57-FZ dated 29 April 2008 “On the procedure for making foreign investments in business entities of strategic importance for ensuring national defence and state security” has been amended (“Law No. 57-FZ”).

The Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has published Guidelines for the identification of a personal interest in procurement. The Guidelines have been designed to organise corporate activities aimed at identifying a personal interest of employees when procurement is being performed, which may lead to a conflict of interests.

In the conditions of the crisis, the state authorities are developing protectionist measures to amend statutory regulation in the area of state and municipal procurement and of procurement by specific types of legal entities, with a view to targeting the customers’ activity in carrying out the procurement of mostly domestic products on a permanent basis.

The bad-faith conduct of actors in socially important spheres such as pharmaceuticals and healthcare has become an especially sensitive matter against the backdrop of the severe situation with the coronavirus epidemic. The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service is closely watching such violations caused by a soaring need for specific categories of goods and services.

The coronavirus pandemic is not only a biological hazard for the entire population, but also entails adverse consequences, such as a drop in economic activity, a decrease in the production level and breakdowns in long-term supply chains. The business sector’s attempts to make up for the losses in the conditions of the crisis may result in antitrust legislation being breached.

By virtue of the threat of the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the need has originated for the amendment of the work regime of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (the “FAS of Russia”) relating to the consideration of cases and conduct of audits.