DOJ Belatedly Settles Egyptian Sewer Project Bid Rigging Case

Five defunct  construction firms that built an Egyptian sewer system for USAID in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s have agreed to repay taxpayers $47 million in excessive costs caused by bid rigging on the project. The False Claims Act case alleges that Harbert Corporation, Harbert International, Inc., Bill Harbert International Constructions, Inc., Harbert Construction Services Ltd. (UK) and Bilhar International Establishment conspired with potential bidders for competitors to bid artificially high, or not to bid at all, allowing Harbert and its allies to get an above market price on the project. The Harbert companies allegedly paid off the losing bidders for their cooperation in the scheme.