Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force Commemorates Fifth Anniversary with Law Enforcement Partners

Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) commemorated the PCSF’s fifth anniversary in Washington with a celebration involving law enforcement partners and key stakeholders from across the government. Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter, PCSF Director Daniel Glad and other department officials were joined by representatives from among the PSCF’s 12 national law enforcement partners and 25 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and other key stakeholders from the law enforcement and oversight community.

The PCSF fifth anniversary event featured remarks from AAG Kanter, who noted the PCSF’s growing impact and the importance of criminal antitrust enforcement. Director Glad offered welcome remarks recounting the PCSF’s history, mission and future. Department of Interior Inspector General and Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Chair Mark Greenblatt highlighted the effectiveness of the PCSF’s collaborative model and that, even in light of its substantial gains over the last five years, more of the PCSF’s work is needed to combat the growing risks in contract and grant oversight.  

The anniversary featured several panels composed of PCSF partner agency representation. Acting Department of Commerce Inspector General Jill Baisinger and U.S. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Hull discussed present and near-future procurement oversight threats that their agencies are facing, and the mitigation tools they have deployed to address those threats. Expert panelists from Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the U.S. Agency for International Development OIG discussed global and international considerations. The anniversary concluded with a panel discussion featuring expert panelists from the Department of Transportation OIG, General Services Administration OIG and Environmental Protection Agency OIG, who discussed data, analytics and collaboration driving future PCSF enforcement efforts.

The PCSF is the Justice Department’s coordinated, joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local.

Since its inception in November 2019, the PCSF has opened more than 145 criminal investigations and trained more than 39,000 people. In that time, the PCSF and Antitrust Division have obtained over 60 guilty pleas and trial convictions and have investigated and prosecuted over 85 companies and individuals involving over $575 million worth of government contracts and contract kickbacks.

AAG Kanter’s remarks can be viewed here.

Director Glad’s remarks can be viewed here.

Chair Greenblatt’s remarks can be viewed here.