INL COLOMBIA CRYPTO CURRENCY CERTIFICATIONS

Sources Sought Notice:  19INLE26I0033 - INL Colombia Crypto Currency Certifications

(PCS: U006; NAICS: 611430)

Background:

INL Colombia Anti Money Laundering Program is seeking a potential contract to deliver advanced training on investigating complex money laundering schemes, including virtual asset investigations. This initiative will enable Colombian authorities to effectively identify, and counter national and international financial crimes committed by TCOs and FTOs..

This Sources Sought notice is issued for planning market research purposes only, and does not constitute a solicitation for proposals, offers, bids, and/or quotes. This is not an announcement of a forthcoming solicitation, or confirmation that the Government will contract for the items contained in the Sources Sought, nor is any commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract implied. Responses to this notice will assist the Government in identifying potential sources and in determining if a Small Business set-aside of the solicitation is appropriate. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Sources Sought. Responses to this notice will not be returned.

The following information is requested in this RFI/Sources Sought:

1.  Company name, point of contact, phone number, and address;

2.  UEI Number and CAGE Code;

3.  Interest in nature of participation [e.g., prime contractor, teaming partner, primary subcontractor];

4.  SDVOSB/HUBZONE/8(a)/WOSB or other SBA certification for applicable NAICS;

5.  Statement of capabilities applicable to this requirement specifically experience providing the training and development of the specific curriculum as described in the draft Statement of Work

6. Ability to provide both in person and virtual content delivery;

7. Questions, clarifications and/or recommendations to INL to inform a subsequent Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Interested contractors may provide the above information via e-mail to the addresses listed below. Information submitted must be in sufficient detail as to allow for a thorough government review of the firm's interest and capabilities.

This information is due no later than Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 12:00 PM EST.

Primary Point of Contact:

Michele Coccovizzo
Senior Contract Support Specialist
CoccovizzoML@state.gov

Secondary Point of Contact:

Jamillah Timmons
Contracting Officer
TimmonsJ@state.gov

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Line 1: Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Certification or Diploma (Spanish)

Qty: 100 ; Unit: SV-service

A. Training Services:

• Comprehensive exam preparation covering all certification domains
• Minimum 40 hours instruction per certification type
• Digital and/or print study materials, practice exams, and case studies
• 12-month access to online learning management system
• Supplementary materials on FATF recommendations, sanctions programs, and relevant regulations

B. Core Curriculum

The government expects, at a minimum, the inclusion of these factors, and any appropriate combination thereof: core AML/CFT concepts and typologies (ML, TF, related financial crime); international and domestic AML frameworks (FATF, national laws, roles of regulators/FIU/LE/prosecutors); risk-based approach, CDD/KYC, beneficial ownership, sanctions, PEPs, and STR/SAR fundamentals; use of STRs/SARs as intelligence and evidential leads; governance, culture, and accountability in reporting entities; supervisory letters/enforcement rationales; financial sanctions; cross-border financial flows; introductory concepts of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.

C. Delivery:

• Virtual and in-person training for approximately 100 Colombian officials (prosecutors, investigators, financial experts) in various municipalities
• Primary in-person instructor in Bogota with concurrent virtual instruction for students in remote zones (live and on-demand access) within existing fixed-fee budget. INL will provide list of participants.

D. Examination:

• Exam registration and vouchers (valid for minimum of 6 months) for up to 100 participants annually
• Testing center coordination or remote proctoring
• Retake vouchers for 30% of participants
• Results within 5 business days

E. Reporting:

• Monthly progress reports (enrollment and completion)
• Quarterly performance metrics (pass rates, satisfaction scores)
• Final report with certifications obtained and program improvement recommendations

Line 2: Cryptocurrency Specialist Certification or Diploma (Spanish)

Qty: 50 - Unit: SV-service

A. Core Curriculum
The government expects, at a minimum, the inclusion of these factors, and any appropriate combination thereof: blockchain fundamentals, cryptocurrency types, VASPs and AML obligations, FATF Travel Rule, DeFi risks, transaction monitoring, blockchain analytics, sanctions evasion, mixers/privacy coins, ransomware, cross-border transfers, regulatory frameworks, case studies covering financial crimes, state-sponsored activities, terrorist financing, human trafficking, corruption, and international cooperation on crypto investigations

B. Training Materials:

• Comprehensive study guide (PDF/interactive), video lectures (20+ hours), blockchain simulations, case study library, terminology glossary, regulatory repository, practice exams (100+ questions)
• 30-day training licenses for blockchain analytics platforms (Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM Labs) with sandbox environments

C. Delivery:

• Virtual and in-person training for approximately 50 Colombian officials (prosecutors, investigators, financial experts) in various municipalities
• Primary in-person instructor in Bogota with concurrent virtual instruction for students in remote zones (live and on-demand access) within existing fixed-fee budget. INL will provide list of participants.

D. Examination:

• Exam vouchers (valid for minimum 6 months) for 50 participants
• Testing center coordination or remote proctoring
• Retake vouchers for 30% of participants
• Results within 5 business days

E. Practical Exercises: Minimum 5 hands-on exercises including blockchain tracing, VASP risk assessment, wallet analysis, exchange monitoring, sanctions screening, and investigation report writing

F. Guest Speakers: Minimum 2 presentations from law enforcement investigators, VASP compliance officers, blockchain analytics representatives, regulatory officials, or international partners

G. Reporting:

• Weekly enrollment/completion statistics and engagement metrics
• Final report with certification status, recommendations, lessons learned, and materials repository

Final Deliverables:

• Comprehensive training completion report
• Participant certification status
• Recommendations for advanced training
• Lessons learned and program improvement suggestions
• Repository of all materials provided

DELIVERY

• Provide virtual and in-person preparation for officials, including prosecutors, investigators, and financial-investigative experts, regulators, and financial intelligence analysts from various municipalities throughout Colombia. INL will provide the list of participants.
• Provide a primary in-person instructor in Bogota, Colombia, while maintaining a secure, concurrent virtual instructor-led training for remote zones, allowing students in other zones to attend live or access the recorded session on demand within the existing fixed-fee budget.

• All charges for delivery to the final destination is the responsibility of the contractor. Price must include delivery to training locations in Colombia.

WARRANTY
N/A

CUSTOMS CLEARANCE AND TAX EXEMPTIONS

All goods and services shall be provided with tax exemption, under no circumstance INL/DOS will be paying VAT, income, entrance or any other related tax for this order.

The U.S. Government (USG) will assist the contractor in obtaining customs clearance and tax exemption certificates from of Colombia.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

The payment(s) to the contractor shall be made using Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) - Per Deliverable model upon completion and acceptance of specific deliverables:

During the contract period, payments will occur using the following structure:

TBD
Monitoring Methods:    
INL will observe 25% of live training sessions and review participant evaluations after each course. INL shall conduct monthly reviews of platform analytics and quarterly assessments of pass rates and trends. An annual comprehensive program evaluation will be performed, along with spot-checks of material currency and accuracy.

Acceptable Quality Levels:

Platform performance must maintain 98% uptime. 85% of participants must rate the training as "good" or "excellent."

Certification pass rate must achieve 65% during first attempt and overall pass rates of 10% within industry standards. The contractor shall issue certificates within 30 days of passing exam.

The INL Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for this project is:
TBD

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (POP) or ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE

Offerors are encouraged to provide their best delivery terms.  Selected vendor should have no more than 60-90 calendar days to schedule the first training after the award of the contract. The 60-90 calendar days term will start with the Purchase Order delivery date. Vendor must fulfill the contract and deliver 100% of training and issue certifications for both AML specialists and cryptocurrency specialists within 12-18 months after the delivery of the order.
 

EVALUATION FACTORS

The basis of award will be Best Value using Tradeoffs, price and non-price factors considered.

INL reserves the right to reject quotations that are incomplete, non-compliant with the terms of this solicitation, or that are unreasonably high in price.

For evaluation purposes, the price will be determined by multiplying the offered prices times the quantities stated in the schedule, and arriving at a grand total, including all options, if any.

INL will evaluate the proposed delivery time frame and the technical specifications. INL will only consider for award those companies that INL determines have a high likelihood of satisfactorily completing the required items based on the proposal.

INL will determine quoter responsibility by analyzing whether the apparent successful quoter complies with the requirements of FAR 9.1.

Unless an exception in FAR 4.1102 applies, a quoter must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) in order to be eligible for award. If the quoter does not become registered in the SAM database in the time prescribed by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer will proceed to award to the next otherwise successful registered quoter.