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 project (e.g. project owner, contractor, sub-contractors, suppliers, consultants)
• the above participants are bound together in a complex contractual structure which could have numerous contractual links
• the project may be technically complex which could be difficult to understand, and corruption could be concealed in technical issues
• there may be a large quantity of different types of complex documents (tender and tender evaluation documents, bids from competing contractors, contract conditions, specification, bill of quantities, drawings, programme)
• there is a general lack of transparency in the infrastructure sector which makes facts and comparable data hard to establish.

(Note:  A separate module examines these factors in more detail).

It is difficult for investigators to:

• compare prices between projects (as projects differ in design and location)
• 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).