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. 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. Additionally, SIGAR works parallel investigations with the Afghan Attorney General's Office to prosecute Afghan nationals involved in fraud and corruption related to U.S. reconstruction funds.

As part of its oversight mission, SIGAR has an innovative suspension and debarment program with an embedded attorney who specialize in this area of law as an integral member of the Investigations team. SIGAR's suspension and debarment program includes comprehensive training for investigators and auditors 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 suspension and debarment recommendations ready for immediate decisions by agency suspension and debarment officials in parallel with the other remedies available to the Government.

SIGAR is 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 As the only member of the ICCTF with cross-agency jurisdiction and a single focus on the expenditure of U.S. reconstruction funds, SIGAR has the largest U.S. fraud and corruption investigative presence in Afghanistan. Investigative leads and intelligence are developed through direct contact with public and private participants in the reconstruction effort, including U.S. government officials, contractors, and Afghanistan nationals. Special agents 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 in Afghanistan. Additionally, SIGAR coordinates investigations with the Lead Inspector General's Fraud and Corruption Investigations Working Group.

¹ The other members of the ICCTF are the FBI, the U.S. Army CID Major Procurement Fraud Unit, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the DoS Office of the Inspector General and the USAID Office of the Inspector General.