Common Corruption Risks

Procurement

Procuring goods or services from companies owned or controlled by staff themselves, their relatives or close friends without declaring conflict of interest to the public bodies
Conspiring with bidders to submit bogus quotations or tenders to manipulate the bidding process
Tampering with quotations or tenders received to secure the award of contract to a particular bidder
Leaking confidential tender price information of tenderers to another bidder
Soliciting advantages from suppliers or contractors in return for the timely release of payments

Accepting lavish or excessive entertainment from contractors
Issuing unnecessary or excessive variation orders to allow contractors to obtain extra payments
Colluding with contractors to deceive contract payments using exaggerated or falsified records
Exercising lax supervision of contractors’ performance and turning a blind eye to their poor quality of work such as using substandard materials
Soliciting or accepting fees from construction workers for referring jobs to them

Lacking clear and transparent criteria for accessing applications
Referring applicants to use services that could facilitate their applications, such as legal or consultation services, provided by the member’s or staff’s own business, family members, relatives or friends
Approving ineligible applications submitted by persons who are the staff member’s relatives or close friends, without declaring conflict of interest to the public bodies
Favouring individual successful applicants (i.e. monitoring targets) by delaying or forgoing actions against their non-compliances with the conditions set out in the licence, funding agreement, tenancy agreements, etc.

Showing favouritism to candidates or subordinates in staff appointment, promotion or performance appraisal
Falsifying documents such as attendance records and accounting documents to claim for overtime, travelling or entertainment allowances
Engaging in moonlighting activities leading to conflict of interest situations, such as taking up part-time employment in a company which is a monitoring target of the public body
Processing the application of a job applicant who has personal or social ties with the staff member without declaring the conflict of interest

Leaking market-sensitive information such as development plans to a business operator to facilitate his land or property speculation in the vicinity of the planned development of public bodies with development or construction businesses
Leaking questions and answers to candidates in recruitment, licensing, public or academic examinations of public bodies
Making use of personal data of service recipients or clients of public bodies to tout business for a company in which the staff member has a private interest