Project officials can leak confidential information, such as, among many other things:
- Budgets and cost estimates
- Preferred solutions
- Competing bid information, etc.
to help a favored bidder gain an advantage. Leaking of bid information usually indicates a corrupt relationship between the parties.
RED FLAGS OF LEAKING OF BID INFORMATION
- Winning bid is just under the next lowest bid
- Bid is too close to budget, estimate or preferred solution
- Inadequate bidding procedures, e.g., acceptance of late bids, non-public bid openings, taking breaks during the bid opening (to provide the opportunity to share the content of certain bids and to amend others), etc.
- Late bidder is the winning bidder
- A questionable agent, “consultant” or “middleman” is involved in the bidding process
- Project officials and a bidder communicate or meet privately during the bidding process
CASE EXAMPLES OF LEAKING OF BID INFORMATION
See actual case example of leaking of bid information from investigated cases.
BASIC STEPS TO DETECT AND PROVE LEAKING OF BID INFORMATION
- Identify and interview all complainants to obtain further detail.
- Obtain the following bidding documents and examine them for the red flags listed above:
- Requests for bids
- Winning and losing bids
- Bid evaluation reports
- Minutes of bid opening
- Compare information in bids and proposals to confidential information in the files of the bidding organization, including budgets, cost estimates and competing bids.
- Interview witnesses and examine telephone, email records and visitors logs to determine if there were communications or meetings between a bidder and project officials during the bidding period.