Procurement Management in Financial Crime Risk

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of how procurement processes can be exploited for financial crime, including money laundering, fraud, bribery, and corruption.

It is designed for professionals across high-risk procurement and governance environments, including:

• Public sector institutions (national, provincial, and municipal departments, state-owned entities)
• Private sector organisations with significant procurement functions, particularly in regulated or high-value industries
• Procurement officers, supply chain management (SCM) practitioners, and tender committee members
• Compliance, risk, audit, and forensic investigation professionals
• Senior management and executives responsible for governance, oversight, and financial controls

Across these sectors, procurement represents a critical control point where financial crime risks can either be mitigated or inadvertently enabled.

Learners will gain practical tools to identify red flags, strengthen procurement controls, and uphold ethical standards across all stages of the procurement lifecycle.

Using real-world case studies, including South Africa’s state capture scandals and FATF recommendations, the course highlights procurement’s central role in the broader anti-financial crime landscape. Emphasis is placed on supplier due diligence, conflict of interest management, whistleblower protections, and internal controls that safeguard procurement from abuse.

Participants will explore the intersection of compliance, governance, and procurement to ensure legally sound, transparent, and defensible procurement practices particularly in environments subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny and public accountability.

Key Learning Outcomes

By completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Understand the procurement lifecycle and where financial crime risks arise
• Identify common typologies such as bid rigging, kickbacks, and shell vendors
• Implement due diligence and control mechanisms to reduce exposure
• Apply South African laws (e.g., PFMA, MFMA, FICA) and international best practices
• Recognise red flags and respond appropriately using escalation procedures
• Build a procurement culture rooted in ethics, transparency, and accountability