Fraud, corruption, and collusion in public procurement activities, a systematic literature review on data-driven methods

Abstract

Fraud, corruption, and collusion are the most common types of crime in public procurement processes; they produce significant monetary losses, inefficiency, and misuse of the public treasury. However, empirical research in this area to detect these crimes is still insufficient. This article presents a systematic literature review focusing on the most contemporary data-driven techniques applied to crime detection in public procurement. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) methodology was adopted to identify typical elements that lead to crimes in public contracting. We collected scientific papers and analyzed the selected research using the Scopus repository. We evaluated and summarized findings related to crime detection techniques based mainly on machine learning and network science, as well as studies using fraud risk indices. Some methodologies presented promising results in identifying crimes, especially those using labeled data and machine learning techniques. However, due to the frequent unavailability of pre-labeled data on past cases, analysis through network science tools has become more evident and relevant in exploratory research.

Індикатори Ефективності Антикорупційних Стратегій У Контексті Публічного Управління

“…Зростання кількості виявлених випадків корупції може свідчити про те, що антикорупційні інструменти та стратегії працюють, а не приховують проблему. При цьому збільшення кількості виявлених випадків корупції може бути наслідком покращення роботи антикорупційних органів та їхньої здатності виявляти корупційні дії.» [6]. Водночас Boly A. та Gillanders R. у своїй статті зазначають: «Політики, які мають владні повноваження, можуть зловживати антикорупційними інструментами для приховування власної корупційної діяльності.» [7].…”

Optimalisasi E-Government Dalam Pemberantasan Korupsi

“…Tinjauan sistematis ini mengukuti item pelaporan untuk Metodologi Tinjauan Sistematis dan Meta-Analisis (PRISMA) (Liberati et al, 2009;Moher et al, 2009). PRISMA adalah metodologi yang dapat diperiksa berdasarkan daftar item yang sering digambarkan dalam diagram alur (Lyra et al, 2022). Pada proses penelitian ini terdiri dari beberapa tahap, yang pertama adalah eksplorasi topik.…”

Organized crime behavior of shell-company networks in procurement: prevention insights for policy and reform

“…Research in organized crime has had the challenge to define, conceptually and theoretically, the illegal markets diversity and the way they shape the environment as it impacts the organization type Tonry, 2020, McLaughlin andNewburn, 2010]. Nevertheless, in recent years, the study of economic crime and corruption in procurement has benefited from integrative studies that acknowledge the interconnected nature of the procurement ecosystem [Lyra et al, 2022, Granados and Nicolás-Carlock, 2021, Luna-Pla and Nicolás-Carlock, 2020. For example, the use of network science and open procurement data for the modeling of the contracting relations among government institutions (buyers) and companies (suppliers) as bipartite networks has helped to measure the levels of corruption risk due to concentrations of single-bid contracting rates .…”

“…Furthermore, it is well-known that when companies are not independent among each other but are interrelated due to shared ownership or management they pose a higher risk of fraud, collusion and market manipulation [Nicolás-Carlock and Luna-Pla, 2021, Velasco et al, 2021, Jancsics, 2017, Vitali et al, 2011, Fazekas, 2017. Therefore, comprehending the interconnected operations of buyers and suppliers at all stages of the procurement process, from tenders and awarded contracts to ownership relations and other informal networks ties [Costa et al, 2021] is a crucial aspect in identifying irregular activities and preventing illicit and criminal operations in these complex environments [Lyra et al, 2022].…”