According to other articles I've read about the devices, they were advertised as "running on the body's static electricity", and able to detect not only bombs, but also "illegal immigrants, truffles, contraband ivory and 100 dollar bills" from a distance of three miles.
It's utterly bizarre that various governments have paid over $100,000,000 for these things.
I imagine this is just fraud. The government official's brother buys 10,000 of these for $5 and sells them for $5,000. He and the politician enjoy the spoils. Many autocratic and corrupt nations do this trick. Usually not this painfully obvious, but it just sounds like a typical mark-up scam.
Security forces probably love this thing because it gives them leeway into searching and stopping anyone for any reason.
This device is perfect for corrupt politicians and corrupt cops. From a purely amoral perspective its genius. It gives the politicians what they want (graft) and the police what they want (arbitrary searches).
It's utterly bizarre that various governments have paid over $100,000,000 for these things.