Question

What are some clues that might alert you to possible fraudulent activity at the different stages of a bid-rigging scheme?

Answer 1

Suspicions of a bid-rigging scheme might arise when seemingly unnecessary restrictions that artificially limit competition are placed in the solicitation documents.At the pre-solicitation phase, this includes:

• Tailoring specifications of a contract to fit the capabilities of a single contractor
• Providing confidential information about the contract on a preferential basis
• Splitting the contract into several smaller parts in order to circumvent mandatory bidding thresholds

At the solicitation phase, this includes:

• Allowing only companies that are represented by a certain sales representative to submit bids
• Bid pooling, whereby several bidders conspire to split the contract up and ensure that each gets a certain piece
• Soliciting bids from fictitious suppliers

At the submission phase, this includes:

• Abuse of the sealed-bid process
• Providing information to certain vendors on how to prepare their bid
• Falsifying the bid log
• Extending the bid opening date