Compliance and fraud in public procurement
He right to competition It is fundamental in the market economy and, consequently, an aspect to consider from regulatory compliance to ensure fair and transparent competition.
Within the scope of competition, irregularities can be committed, the so-called collusive conduct, prohibited by Law 15/2007, of July 3, on the Defense of Competition in its article 1, which defines them as that collective agreement, decision or recommendation, or concerted practice that aims to prevent, restrict or distort competition in all or part of the national territory.
Within these collusive behavior We find: the fixing of prices, the control of production, the allocation of the market, the application of unequal conditions for equivalent services that place some competitors at a disadvantage compared to others and the subordination of the conclusion of contracts to the acceptance of services. supplementary provisions that are not related to such contracts.
What is Bid rigging?
It is the set of behaviors aimed at manipulating bids through the aforementioned practices. It must be taken into account that public procurement is an economic activity that involves the use of public funds and, therefore, it is vitally important that competition in public tenders is carried out freely, honestly and independently. Among the signs that point to these behaviors and, therefore, are signs of fraudulent bidding are:
- Suspicious similarities between the offers presented.
- Non-competitive offers.
- Incoherent offers.
- Offers presented by the same natural person on behalf of different legal entities.
In recent years, efforts have increased in prosecution and sanction of this type of practices in all sectors of the economy, by Public Administrations. However, organizations can reduce and mitigate these types of violations with a compliance program that is responsible for training the entire organization in Competition Law, generating a true culture of compliance and detecting possible restrictive behaviors.
It's important pointing that There is no single model for a regulatory compliance program., but rather that each company must adapt the procedures to its business reality, devoting special attention to each area of activity, since there are not the same risks nor will the same measures have to be implemented in a multinational company as in a small local company.
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