Corruption in procurement, the Anac report: Works and local authorities are the most exposed sectors

Corruption in procurement, the Anac report: Works and local authorities are the most exposed sectors

Corruption in procurement, the Anac report: Works and local authorities are the most exposed sectors

Corruption in procurement, the Anac report: Works and local authorities are the most exposed sectors

Disturbances and acts contrary to official duties are the main crimes that emerged. The analysis of the criminal measures communicated in the period January 2020-May 2026 confirms the centrality of prevention

Public works, local authorities and illicit agreements between public and private continue to represent the main risk areas linked to the corruption phenomenon in the procurement sector in Italy. This is what emerges from the new Report of the National Anti-Corruption Authority which analyzes the criminal proceedings communicated to the Anac between 1 January 2020 and 15 May 2026, offering a picture of the characteristics of the phenomenon on the basis of the documents transmitted by the judicial authority, after the previous report relating to 2016-2019. The analysis, carried out by the Special Operational Office, Extraordinary Measures and Commissioners of Anac, confirms at the same time the central role of prevention tools, high surveillance and extraordinary measures introduced by legislative decree no. 90 of 2014 to protect legality and guarantee the continuity of public works. In the period examined, the Financial Police Unit (NGDF) operating at the Anac prepared, following the examination of the provisions communicated by the judicial authority, 135 information notes relating to 141 criminal proceedings, almost two per month, coming from 100 Public Prosecutor's Offices: Rome in the lead with ten communications, followed, among the Public Prosecutor's Offices from which the most provisions were received, by Catania, Messina and Naples, Milan and Benevento, Palermo. The proceedings include a total of 1,295 charges relating to cases of corruption or anomalous conduct in public contracts, of which 762 contain crimes provided for by article 32 of legislative decree no. 90 of 2014. There are 378 crimes identified, highlighting that in the majority of cases these are still disputes, mostly, orders for indictment or precautionary measures, for which the principle of the presumption of innocence applies. Among the contested cases, the disturbed freedom of auctions or the disturbed freedom of the procedure for choosing the contractor prevails (28.3% of cases), followed by corruption for an act contrary to official duties (22.2%) and corruption on the private side (21.2%). These include, we read in the report, "cases of subservience of public functions or powers to private interests aimed at the direct or urgent assignment, sometimes also through subcontracting, of multiple contracts to the same company which is part of the illicit agreement". This is followed by the crimes of fraud and aggravated fraud, typical of the enforcement phase, which account for 8.5% of the cases of interest. However, the use of extortion is marginal (less than 2% together with cases of illicit influence trafficking), confirming how corruption phenomena develop mainly through agreements between the parties rather than through coercion exercised by the public sector. The events analyzed involve 994 natural persons: 583 belonging to companies and 411 to contracting authorities. In the private sector, top management figures prevail, while in the public administration employees, technical and operational figures called upon to manage the assignment procedures are more involved. The report also highlights a lower involvement of women in corruption episodes compared to their presence in the labor market, both in the public and private sectors: a fact which, although requiring further investigation, appears consistent with some evidence that has also emerged in the scientific literature. The proceedings involved 212 contracting authorities and over 530 public contracts, for a total value of more than 2.9 billion euros from 2024. Over 45% of cases concern Municipalities; followed by health service bodies (almost 21%) and controlled or participated public companies (over 14%). Similar to the 2019 report, the greater concentration in municipal administrations and in general in local authorities is confirmed, reaching almost 53% of the total if other types of territorial bodies such as regions and provinces are added to the Municipalities, with a total of 112 cases. Central public bodies, such as ministries and government agencies, are present in a limited number of cases (11, 5.2%). The least present category is that of universities, with only one case recorded. On a territorial level, the greatest number of proceedings is concentrated in Sicily (almost 24%), Campania (over 18%), Lombardy (over 10%), Lazio (over 9%) and Puglia (around 8%). The most exposed sector remains that of public works, which represents over 40% of the cases examined, followed by services (32%) and supplies (9.5%). Mixed contracts, therefore relating to different sectors, accounted for 13.5%. Among the areas most affected include road maintenance, management of public green areas, waste, cleaning services, management of reception centres, social services and healthcare supplies. Furthermore, cases of corruption have been found in situations of extreme urgency or emergency perpetrated through direct assignments. The analysis also examines the companies involved. Although almost 70% belong to the category of micro and small businesses, the report highlights that medium and large businesses are involved in a proportion of cases proportionally high compared to their weight in the national production fabric. The report also recalls that, in the period under review, over 97% of public contracts were worth less than 5 million euros and approximately 90% were less than one million. A figure that helps to contextualize the role of micro and small businesses in the procurement market. From June 2014 to 15 May 2026, the President of the Anac - who expresses his heartfelt thanks to the Guardia di Finanza for the fruitful collaboration in the activities carried out - formulated 72 proposals for the application of the extraordinary measures provided for by the legislation, almost all of which were accepted by the competent Prefects. In the period 2020-15 May 2026, 35 companies were affected: in 25 cases the application of an extraordinary measure was proposed, while in the other 10 the procedure ended with the economic operator's commitment to adopt strengthened organizational measures. The experience gained demonstrates how the prevention and control system represents an effective tool for bringing companies back to legality, preventing further corruption episodes and ensuring the regular execution of public contracts. The checks conducted by the Special Operations Office of Anac, in which soldiers from the Financial Police also operate, led to the issuing of 5,773 opinions, relating to 1,687 award procedures relating to public works and services for over 2.5 billion euros; in the period 2021-2025, 779 procedures were examined, with the release of 3,391 opinions.

Consult the Report

Anac - Corruption and procurement in Italy 2020-2026 - 24.06.2026.pdf

Last updated 03/08/2026, 15:29

Disturbances and acts contrary to official duties are the main crimes that emerged. The analysis of the criminal measures communicated in the period January 2020-May 2026 confirms the centrality of prevention