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WB punishes 2 for fraud in Gambia, 6 other countries
Wednesday, 08 December 2010 00:02
By JollofNews Staff WriterTaking anti-corruption enforcement to a new level, the World Bank Group has announced the debarment of two companies and, separately, the first-ever World Bank cross-debarments of firms, for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices in development projects.
Kwaplah International Trading Co., Inc., a U.S.-based company, and its owner, Mr. Sherlock Mahn, together with any organization they directly or indirectly control, have been debarred for 12 years for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices in Bank-financed projects implemented in Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Ghana, and Liberia, the Bank said in statement released and received by Jollof News.
Accordingly, this is the second-longest debarment since the Bank began sanctioning firms in 1999. In making its decision, the World Bank’s Sanctions Board took into account the multiplicity of sanctionable practices committed by the company among other considerations.
The announcement came on the eve of the International Corruption Hunters Network meeting, which commenced on December 6 and will last up to the 8 at the World Bank’s headquarters.
“These enforcement actions are timely, coming as they do just before our meeting next week with the International Corruption Hunters Alliance,” said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Vice President for Integrity (INT). “Our hope is that the Alliance will facilitate our investigations and increase their impact to further eliminate fraud and corruption risks impacting development resources.”
Over 200 anti-corruption officials from more than 40 countries are discussing possible help to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of corrupt actors, including those who defraud World Bank projects. Officials hope the meeting will enhance efforts by officials’from developing countries to interact with counterparts from OECD countries, share information, and work toward a global enforcement regime.
According to McCarthy, stepping up enforcement action as part of a global enforcement regime was an important item on the agenda. He added that these are examples of cases that could be scaled up with the support of Alliance members given the network’s multi-jurisdictional impact.
Managing fraud and corruption risks is a prominent feature of the World Bank Group’s Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) agenda, he added.
“This Sanctions Board Decision has laid down some bright line rules, following an extensive INT investigation that crossed multiple jurisdictions,” said Mr. McCarthy. “Companies and individuals who misuse development resources should know that, together with our partners, we are stepping up the fight against fraud and corruption, and they will be caught,” he added.
Since the signing of the Cross-Debarment agreement earlier this year, INT has worked diligently with our MDB partners to ensure that enforcement is not delayed, said McCarthy.
“This enforcement action is sending a very powerful signal of how the global anticorruption landscape is fast forwarding. This progress cannot be reversed,” he stressed.
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