From ANAC to criminal offences. More checks, no more corruption

We would like to express our gratitude to ANAC, the National Anti-Corruption Authority, for the monitoring and prevention work it carries out regarding the transparency and regularity of public procurement. And we emphasise prevention: because whether the total number of indictments, seizures and even arrests resulting from its checks has a positive correlation, at least in percentage terms, with convictions confirmed by a court is a rather murky issue. ANAC has just published the report “Corruption and Public Procurement in Italy: Analysis January 2020 – May 2026”, which has particularly piqued the interest of two newspapers, each with their own judicial slant. For Il Corriere, for example, the headline highlights the fact that “far more men than women are involved” (there is a specific section in the report on “corruption in relation to gender”, which is obviously welcome, even if it does not appear to be a central focus). Il Fatto, on the other hand, focuses on the rise in direct awards, “that is, just below the maximum threshold at which it is possible to avoid a tender process”. This is a perfectly legal method (designed to speed up procedures) but, for Il Fatto, it is clearly an indication of corruption slipping past the watchful eye of ANAC and the judiciary.

What is missing, however, is a comparison between the “5,773 opinions provided to local authorities on 1,687 public works contracts” and the offences actually confirmed. During the period under review, there were 141 proceedings – “almost two a month”, as the Corriere alarmingly notes – involving 944 defendants from 490 companies. However, the ANAC report itself warns that “in the majority of cases, these are still allegations, mostly indictments or precautionary measures, to which the principle of the presumption of innocence applies, as the criminal proceedings have not yet reached a final judgement”. Therefore, the report is not an accurate measure of corruption in Italy. If one takes into account that final convictions for corruption offences average a few dozen a year, it can be said that ANAC is doing its preventive work well; whilst the alarm over rampant corruption is essentially exaggerated.