Mar 21, 2024 - 01:13
By cbc.ca

Federal government refers three cases of suspected contractor fraud to RCMP

Canada's federal procurement department says it has referred three cases of suspected invoicing fraud by IT sub-contractors to police.

Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said a recent review uncovered fraudulent billing schemes that were being used between 2018 and 2022.

Duclos said his department has revoked or suspended the security clearances of the contractors and is taking action to recover the money.

The department said in a press release that this is a «first wave» of cases and it expects there will be more in the coming months. Officials said another five to 10 cases are being examined, though they could not provide an estimate of how much money is involved.

«The good news, if there is good news here, is that it shows that the investments in what we call electronic procurement, in data-gathering and data analytics, over the last few years are starting to work really well,» Duclos told a press conference.

The IT sub-contractors in the cases that are now being investigated by police submitted timesheets and billed departments under separate contracts. The scheme allegedly involved 36 federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations.

Duclos said the sub-contractors took advantage of the fact that most of the invoicing was done on paper, making comparisons of data difficult.

«Until now, there has not been any sign that this was due to mismanagement within the federal government,» he said, adding no one has lost their job and an internal investigation is ongoing.

The government is not naming the individuals involved to protect the integrity of the RCMP investigation.