A complaint concerning allegedly corrupt public officials was forwarded by the Anti-Corruption Authority to the competent minister under whose supervision the Department in which the officials serve falls, for the purpose of conducting a relevant investigation.
Last week, the Anti-Corruption Authority was obliged to reject the specific complaint, as it had been submitted anonymously and its officers were unable to contact the complainant in order to obtain additional evidence. As a result, the Authority was forced to discontinue its investigation due to lack of evidence and to forward the complaint to the competent minister, who is in a position to examine it since it concerns public procurement procedures.
The complaint
Specifically, the complaint targets an employee and his superior, who serve in a Department of a Ministry, and according to the allegations:
- There is a practice of direct award of contracts for the installation of electrical appliances in buildings owned by the State.
- Abuse of power is exercised against contractors undertaking these projects, through reprisals in cases of refusal to cooperate.
- They obtain personal benefit, namely financial gain from companies from which contractors are allegedly forced to purchase electrical appliances in order to implement the projects assigned to them.
Why it was not examined by the Authority
The Anti-Corruption Authority was obliged to reject the complaint because, based on the claims presented and its content, it was deemed to be general and vague and not accompanied by sufficient evidence that would make further examination feasible for the purpose of establishing a criminal offence of corruption.
As stated, the complaint was anonymous, making it impossible to contact the complainant for further investigation and the gathering of additional information. Therefore, the Authority could only have proceeded with further examination if contact with the complainant was possible, or alternatively, if the anonymous complaint had been substantiated with sufficient evidence.
The appeal of the Anti-Corruption Authority
The Anti-Corruption Authority has been forced to reject a number of anonymous complaints about corruption because they were general and vague. Moreover, the lack of contact details prevented the Authority from requesting additional information or clarifications. For this reason, the Authority recently called on complainants submitting anonymous reports to include all relevant information and evidence so that meaningful examination is possible.
Before initiating any investigative procedure, the Anti-Corruption Authority examines any complaint or information that comes to its attention in order to determine whether it concerns an act of corruption. If it concludes that the complaint is unrelated to corruption, it informs the complainant in writing. If the complainant’s details are unavailable, the relevant notice is posted on the Authority’s website.
If, at any stage of examination or investigation, the Authority finds indications of a corruption offence, it proceeds with an investigation by appointing inspection officers. If, however, another offence appears that is unrelated to corruption, the Authority informs the Attorney General for further action.