Paris, 12 September 2025 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has unveiled its updated ‘Guidelines for Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement’, reinforcing efforts by governments worldwide to safeguard taxpayer money and promote fair competition in public markets.
Bid rigging remains one of the most damaging forms of anticompetitive conduct. According to the OECD, such schemes inflate costs, lower quality, restrict output, and erode trust in public institutions, ultimately harming both governments and citizens.
The 2025 update builds on the OECD Recommendation on Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement. It provides member states and partner countries with a detailed framework to prevent, detect, and sanction collusive practices in tendering.
The guidelines call on governments to assess procurement laws and practices to ensure they do not inadvertently facilitate collusion. Furthermore, governments should adopt tender design safeguards, including electronic procurement, wider bidder participation, and pro-competition award criteria. Finally, they must raise awareness among procurement officials through training on “red flags” that may signal bid rigging.
The OECD warns that collusion often thrives where markets are highly concentrated, entry barriers are strong, and demand is predictable. Classic bid-rigging strategies include:
- Cover bidding – firms submit artificially high or invalid offers to favor a competitor.
- Bid suppression – competitors abstain from bidding to secure a win for one firm.
- Bid rotation – companies take turns winning contracts.
- Market allocation – firms divide customers, regions, or product lines to avoid competition.
The guidelines also provide a “Bid-Rigging Detection List,” advising procurement officers to watch for unusual pricing patterns, repetitive winners, and suspicious bidder behavior.
Recognising the overlap between bid rigging, corruption, and fraud, the OECD urges closer cooperation among competition authorities, anti-corruption bodies, auditors, and prosecutors. Practical measures include data-sharing, joint working groups, and staff exchanges.
“Collusion in public procurement is a silent tax on citizens,” the OECD stated. “By strengthening detection tools, designing smarter tenders, and fostering inter-agency collaboration, governments can better protect public funds and ensure taxpayers get value for money.”
While designed primarily for governments, the OECD noted that the guidance is equally relevant for private procurement teams. Companies, too, face risks from collusive suppliers and can benefit from applying similar safeguards to protect their purchasing processes.
