Factors influencing procurement fraud among public officials in Kelantan / Mohd Shaharil Mohd Hassan

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing procurement fraud among public officials in Kelantan. This study aims to investigate the relationships between each of the elements in the fraud triangle which are pressure, rationalisation and opportunity with procurement fraud. A set of questionnaires were distributed to public officials who were involved in procurement processes at the Pejabat Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan (SUK office), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) and Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kelantan (UiTMCK). Based on 119 questionnaires received from the respondents, findings from the study revealed that elements in the fraud triangle theory – pressure, opportunity and rationalization – were positively related to procurement fraud. In particular, financial and work pressures, and higher opportunity and justifications in committing fraud promote procurement fraud. Hence, this study contributes to literature on fraud especially procurement fraud which is not widely available especially in Malaysia.