More companies and individuals have been temporarily disallowed by the World Bank to participate in its projects after they were found to have violated the Washington-based lender’s rules.
The World Bank’s disbarment of four firms and individuals this year also makes them ineligible to make a pitch for projects funded by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank. The ADB has barred a total of eight firms and individuals this year on account of its cross-debarment agreement with the World Bank.
The World Bank said it barred four firms and individuals due to “fraudulent and collusive practices” and violations of its guidelines. Its published list indicated that it disallowed nine firms and individuals from participating in its projects last year.
“The firms and individuals listed are ineligible to be awarded a World Bank-financed contract for the periods indicated because they have been sanctioned under the Bank’s fraud and corruption policy as set forth in the Procurement Guidelines or the Consultant Guidelines,” the World Bank said.
Firms and individuals that have been sanctioned by the World Bank are Innogy Solutions Inc. and P-Square Associates Co. and their principals.
Innogy Solutions and its president were disallowed from participating in World Bank projects between March 16, 2018 and September 15, 2023. The same company and individual were barred from participating in ADB-funded projects between March 27, 2018 and February 15, 2023.
P-Square Associates and a consultant of the company will not be allowed to take part in World Bank projects from March 13, 2018 to March 12, 2020.
For ADB, P-Square Associates and the consultant of the company, were barred between March 27, 2018 and March 12, 2020.
Other firms sanctioned by the ADB were also temporarily banned by the World Bank last year. These include Oberthur Technologies Philippines; Oberthur Card Systems SA; Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire SA; and Belen Gacad, who was found to have engaged in corrupt practices by the World Bank in 2017.
The ADB barred the same firms and individuals under the cross-debarment agreement of multilateral development banks enforced in 2010.
“Cross debarment is an agreement among the African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group (referred to as Multilateral Development Banks) to mutually enforce each other’s debarment actions, with respect to the four harmonized sanctionable practices, i.e. corruption, fraud, coercion and collusion,” the Cross Debarment web site stated.
The ADB signed the “Agreement on Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions” on June 9, 2010, while World Bank signed the agreement on July 19, 2010.
Based on the published list of the ADB, the multilateral development bank has barred three firms last year.