Audit Finds Conflicts, $1.4B at Indiana IEDC

A 127-page forensic audit by FTI Consulting, released by Gov. Mike Braun, found governance failures at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) for 2022–2024, citing a lack of transparency and the “potential for favoritism and misuse of public funds.” Investigators identified roughly 30 entities with potential conflicts of interest involving board members or employees, donors who later received state loans or tax incentives, and instances of no‑bid or noncompetitive contracting, including questions about developer selection for the LEAP District. The review found the IEDC and related entities distributed about $1.4 billion (roughly $500 million to the LEAP project, $300 million to READI and about $400 million to other third parties) and flagged frequent, high‑cost VIP and international travel by the Indiana Economic Development Foundation. The probe also covered related organizations such as Elevate Ventures and the Applied Research Institute; Gov. Braun temporarily froze Elevate’s funds during the review, and the IEDC board later voted to allow Elevate to resume activity. State leaders pledged new transparency and stricter travel, donation and conflict‑of‑interest controls, while critics say the audit stops short of quantifying who benefited or how much taxpayers may have lost and are calling for further investigation; the audit did not allege criminal activity.