Board of Directors of National Emergency Supply Agency submitted a report to Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

The Ministry accepts the explanations provided, with the exception of two procurement-related irregularities.

On Thursday 9 April, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment asked the National Emergency Supply Agency to provide a report on the procurement of personal protective equipment that had been discussed publicly. The Board of Directors of the National Emergency Supply Agency commissioned from KPMG Oy Ab a separate review of the personal protective equipment procurement, and has also conducted internal investigations. The report was submitted to Jari Gustafsson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, on 14 April.

“The report shows that those involved in the much-discussed procurement operations failed quite extensively to comply with the financial rules, rules of procedure, and standard procurement processes of the National Emergency Supply Agency. In addition, there is abundant evidence of failure to sufficiently verify the reliability of suppliers and the product certificates. The nature of these failures makes them unacceptable regardless of the urgency and workload associated with the ongoing coronavirus crisis,” said Permanent Secretary Gustafsson, commenting on the review.

“Having read the report submitted to me, I can say that the Board of Directors of the National Emergency Supply Agency and the new Chief Executive Officer have taken measures the Ministry can expect from them based on the reported facts and explanations provided. It is now important to safeguard the Agency’s operational capability and restore credibility. The Board of Directors and the new CEO of the National Emergency Supply Agency will receive all the support they need from the Ministry. The Ministry has no further requests for explanations from the Agency; we accept the explanations provided, with the exception of the irregularities regarding the two purchase transactions which are still under investigation,” Gustafsson concluded, summarising the Ministry’s response to the report.

Inquiries:
Jari Gustafsson, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, [email protected], and Mikko Koivumaa, Director of Communications, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 50 345 3555
Ilona Lundström, Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Emergency Supply Agency, tel. +358 295 047186, [email protected]
Janne Känkänen, interim CEO, National Emergency Supply Agency, +358 295 3964990, [email protected]