Investigation of BIA sole-source awards for work related to a Budget Execution Reporting Tool

OIG investigated allegations that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) issued sole-source contracts to two companies that did not have the technical capabilities to complete the work, and that a conflict of interest may have existed between a BIA contracting official and one of the companies. 

 

We confirmed that BIA did award a sole-source contract to one company in 2006, but did not award a sole-source contract to the other company. We also found that the BIA contracting official who allegedly had a conflict of interest has since retired, as has the official who decided to use sole-source procedures on this particular contract, and that the statute of limitations involving criminal conflicts of interest has since passed.