Azerbaijan Country Profile

Public Procurement and Contracting

Business Corruption

According to the ACN Azerbaijan Monitoring Report 2006, the Azerbaijani public procurement system lacks transparency. Obligatory publishing of tender proposals is allegedly not enforced, and no corruption cases involving public procurement officials have been investigated. The same source indicates that business representatives believe that many of the most valuable projects are not published at all. It is possible to find procurement notices on the website of the State Agency on Procurement. Companies are recommended to use a specialised public procurement due diligence tool in order to mitigate the corruption risks associated with public procurement in Azerbaijan.

See more on public procurement under 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' in the Initiatives section.

Political Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2008, Azerbaijan's increased oil revenue has also created new corruption opportunities in the area of government contracting. The implementation of these projects, their costs, and their supply contracts are completely non-transparent, as reported by Global Integrity 2008.

See more on public procurement under 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' in the Initiatives section.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010:
- Business leaders give the diversion of public funds to companies, individuals, or groups due to corruption a score of 3.8 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'very common' and 7 'never occurs').

- Business leaders give the favouritism of government officials towards well-connected companies and individuals when deciding upon policies and contracts a score of 3.6 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'always show favouritism' and 7 'never show favouritism').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- 37.6% of the companies surveyed expect to give gifts to secure a government contract.

- The value of a gift expected to secure a government contract is 1.1% of the contract value.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Azerbaijan 2005:
- About 9% of the companies surveyed reported that bribery was frequent in obtaining government contracts.