Bid Rigging Schemes

The bid rigging schemes listed below are linked to corruption, as corrupt parties often rig the bidding process to favor the corrupt payer and to exclude other legitimate bidders.  As such, bid rigging schemes are both red flags of corruption and evidence of corrupt influence.  Click on each scheme for more information.

In some cases corrupt project officials will not tamper with the selection process by the methods listed below and will select what they believe to be the best bid or proposal.   They then will demand a bribe from the selected firm before they will sign a contract.  In this case the price of the bids or proposals may rise to cover the cost of the bribe, but the other red flags of bid rigging may be  absent.

Change order abuse

Excluding qualified bidders

Leaking of bid information

Manipulation of bids

Rigged specifications

Split purchases

Unbalanced bidding

Unjustified sole source awards