BDI: Five contracts for the director of VLEN’s cousin’s company at “Bardovci

BDI accuses the situation at the “Bardovci” Psychiatric Hospital of having escalated after the company “Indigo Inc” DOOEL Skopje, linked to the cousin of director Isa Avdullai, was awarded five tenders by the institution since his appointment as head of the hospital. The statement was made today by Arta Bilalli-Zendeli at a press conference.

According to her, the first contract was signed on October 15, 2024, three months after Avdullai was appointed acting director, and also bears his signature. Its value was up to 600,000 denars. After that, “Indigo Inc” won four other procedures, including this year’s tender for IT systems and licenses, worth up to 2.59 million denars, or approximately 42,000 euros.

Bilalli-Zendeli said the company’s owner, Besim Avdullai, is director Isa Avdullai’s cousin, a family connection that, she said, has also been acknowledged by the director himself. She added that changing the company’s management position shortly before the first tender does not alter the family relationship between them.

BDI is calling on the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Public Procurement Bureau and the responsible institutions to investigate all five procedures, including the criteria established, the bids, the participants and the method of selection. The party maintains that it is not enough to justify the procedures by saying they were “legal” or that the director was not a member of the selection committee.

“When a company with family ties to the head of a public institution wins five tenders from the same institution, oversight and full transparency are not a matter of choice but an obligation. VLEN cannot settle for claiming legality, as this must be supported by documents,” she declared.

The BDI spokesperson also stressed that public funds cannot be treated as family property and that “Bardovci” must not be turned into VLEN’s family business. She reiterated the call for transparency, an institutional investigation and accountability, raising the question of how it is possible for the director’s cousin’s company to win five tenders at the institution he heads.