Factors which complicate investigation

Several factors applicable to the infrastructure sector can facilitate corruption in the procurement phase.  These factors can also complicate an investigation into such corruption.  These factors include:

• numerous companies and individuals may be involved in the procurement process (e.g. project owner, design consultant, bidding organisations)
• the project may be technically complex which could be difficult for investigators to understand, and corruption could be concealed in technical issues
• there may be a large quantity of different types of complex documents (the projects owner’s feasibility studies, budgets and bid documentation; bids received from competing bidders; bid evaluation documents; procurement audit reports; contract conditions, specification, bill of quantities, drawings, and programme)
• there is a general lack of transparency in the infrastructure sector which makes facts and comparable data hard to establish.

(Note:  Module 2: “Why infrastructure projects are prone to corruption” examines these factors in more detail).

It can be difficult for investigators to:

• compare bid prices between comparable projects (as projects differ in design and location)
• establish whether the bid evaluation was honestly and objectively carried out (as some bid criteria can be subjective)
• establish company ownership (due to concealed ownership structures and lack of public records)
• identify corrupt payments (as payments may be made in cash, or through intermediaries, or to bank accounts in false names)
• establish whether there is a cartel, as the participants are likely to keep it confidential, and there may be no documentary evidence
• establish whether confidential information has been secretly provided by project owner personnel to bidder personnel
• assess dishonest intent (as a person may claim that the actions being investigated were not corrupt, but were accidental, or a negligent mistake).