Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) hosted its first summit to convene its law enforcement partners from across the country to discuss emerging threats and strategies to confront them.
Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter, Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) Manish Kumar, PCSF Director Daniel Glad and other department officials were joined by representatives from among the PSCF’s 11 national law enforcement partners and 22 U.
S.
Attorneys’ Offices.
During the summit, AAG Kanter, DAAG Kumar and Director Glad commemorated the PCSF’s fourth anniversary and reflected on its growth and success since its inception.
They also detailed additional resources the division has dedicated to combat procurement collusion, emphasized the importance of law enforcement partnerships and a whole-of-government response to persistent threats in government spending and sharpened the PCSF’s focus on the challenges, risks and opportunities of increased federal spending.
Summit participants discussed the heightened areas of procurement collusion risk resulting from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022 and supplemental funding in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, Director Glad delivered a speech at the National Association of State Procurement Officials’ 10th Annual Law Institute.
In his remarks, he outlined the ways that states can partner with the PCSF to address these emerging threats.
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 100 criminal investigations and trained more than 31,000 people.
In that time, the PCSF and the Antitrust Division have investigated and prosecuted over 65 companies and individuals involving over $500 million worth of government contracts.
The summit marks the department’s continued support of the PCSF as it enters its fifth year.
AAG Jonathan Kanter delivers opening remarks at the Justice Department’s PCSF Summit.
DAAG Manish Kumar delivers closing remarks at the Justice Department’s PCSF Summit.
Representatives from the PCSF’s 11 National Law Enforcement Partners and 22 U.
S.
Attorneys’ offices participate in the Summit.
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