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As part of its annual Spring Update, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice touted the expansion and early success of its Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), both in coordinating efforts among local, state, and federal enforcers and in leveraging the resources and skills of those stakeholders to identify potential antitrust violations in government procurements. The DOJ stood up the PCSF in late 2019 with a team of United States Attorneys’ offices from 13 districts and investigative and law enforcement agents from five partner agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Defense, the GSA, and the U.S. Postal Service; it now boasts 22 U.S. Attorneys’ offices, as well as new “like-minded” partners from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security OIG.
Continue Reading Antitrust Division Praises Early Success and Heralds New Endeavors for Procurement Collusion Strike Force

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Just days after the anniversary of its launch, the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force has expanded its ranks to include 11 new national partners. The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, as well as nine additional U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, have joined the

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Late Friday, the Department of Justice announced its first charges under the Procurement Collusion Strike Force. A federal grand jury seated in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a six-count indictment against Ohio-based Contech Engineered Solutions LLC and its former executive for their involvement in a decade-long conspiracy to rig bids for North Carolina

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The U.S. Justice Department recently recommended that other countries consider focusing on collusion in government procurement, touting the early success of its interagency strike force. During yesterday’s virtual meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Competition Committee, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim introduced the Antitrust Division’s recently formed Procurement Collusion Strike Force

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On Tuesday, the ABA’s Antitrust and Public Contract Law Sections held a panel discussion with DOJ and other government enforcers to provide an update regarding the PCSF’s most recent activities. According to Mark Grundvig, Assistant Chief of Washington Criminal II at the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division and Marcus Mills, Special Agent of Major

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Richard Powers, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement, spoke at the ABA’s International Cartel Workshop on February 19, 2020, discussing the strong commitment the Division has to its leniency program as a core tool for effectively combatting cartel conduct. Powers stressed the complementary nature of leniency and partnerships such as the PCSF in creating

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On March 3rd, the Antitrust and Public Contract Law Sections are hosting a joint meeting to discuss the Department of Justice’s new Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from DOJ representatives as they provide their insights into the PCSF. The meeting will be held at the offices of