The Investigations Directorate conducts criminal and civil investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse relating to programs and operations supported with U.S. funds allocated for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Results are achieved through criminal prosecutions, civil actions, forfeitures, monetary recoveries and suspension and debarments.
To accomplish its mission, SIGAR has full federal law enforcement authority through its enabling legislation as defined by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008. SIGAR’s Special Agents investigate crimes involving federal procurement fraud, contract fraud, theft, corruption, bribery of government employees and public officials, and a variety of civil matters pertaining to waste and abuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
SIGAR aggressively pursues the prosecution of criminal wrongdoing through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). SIGAR details experienced prosecutors to DOJ to handle prosecution resulting from its investigations. Additionally, these prosecutors provide comprehensive training for investigators and analysts on the requirements to build administrative actions against contractors found to have engaged in violations of U.S. or Afghanistan criminal statutes, civil contract fraud or poor performance in reconstruction contracts. This approach allows for the timely development of comprehensive investigations, which includes suspension and debarment recommendations ready for immediate decisions by suspension and debarment officials in parallel with the other remedies available to the Government. SIGAR also supports mission related Uniform Code of Military Justice actions through Judge Advocates and executes civil recovery actions through appropriate federal and military judicial procedures. Prior to the change in Afghanistan’s government in 2021, SIGAR worked parallel investigations with the former government’s Attorney General’s Office to prosecute Afghan nationals involved in fraud and corruption related to U.S. reconstruction funds.
Following the U.S. withdrawal and the collapse of the former Afghan government, SIGAR’s investigations and criminal inquiries into corruption related theft of U.S. taxpayer monies spent in and on Afghanistan continue. SIGAR’s Investigations Directorate (INV) investigates the misuse of reconstruction funds provided prior to and post-August 2021, and works with cooperating U.S. government partners to identify weaknesses in financial institutions that contribute to capital flight from Afghanistan and to access intelligence on illicit financial networks.
Additionally, SIGAR INV personnel collaborate with the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and other U.S. entities in response to an influx of Special Immigrant Visa fraud. U.S. criminal investigators continue to identify U.S. citizens, military personnel and civilian contractors, who were assigned to Afghanistan and have authored fraudulent letters of recommendations for non-qualified Afghanistan nationals in exchange for monetary payments, thus circumventing proper application and vetting protocols established by the U.S. government.
SIGAR was a primary member of the International Contract Corruption Task Force (ICCTF), the principal organization coordinating contract fraud and corruption cases involving U.S. government spending in Afghanistan. 1 1 As the only member of the ICCTF with cross-agency jurisdiction and a single focus on the expenditure of U.S. reconstruction funds, SIGAR had the largest U.S. fraud and corruption investigative presence in Afghanistan. Investigative leads and intelligence continue to be developed through direct contact with public and private participants in the reconstruction effort, including U.S. government officials, contractors, and Afghanistan nationals. Special agents continue to work closely with the ICCTF to share information and investigative intelligence acquired through the Directorate’s international Hotline and Complaint Management Program. SIGAR also leverages the resources of the ICCTF to conduct joint investigations and increase the efficiency of the U.S. federal law enforcement effort relating to Afghanistan. Additionally, SIGAR coordinates investigations with the Lead Inspector General’s Fraud and Corruption Investigations Working Group.