The purchase of unnecessary or inappropriate items can indicate that project officials have a corrupt relationship with, or a hidden ownership interest in, a supplier or contractor. Be particularly alert for the purchase of:
- Items in quantities beyond that which there is demonstrated need;
- Inappropriate items, e.g., continuing to purchase certain medical supplies after a clinic has ceased distributing them;
- New items when useful inventory remains, or shortly after useful inventory of the same items has been scrapped.
Also closely examine the award of consulting contracts for apparently unnecessary studies or work or that appear to inflate the hours needed to accomplish them.
This red flag can indicate the following scheme:
Click on the scheme listed above to see more information on the scheme, a more complete listing of its red flags and steps to determine if the scheme is actually present.