Washington, June 30, 2017 - This quarter, the World Bank debarred 16 companies in sanctions cases, and entered into 8 Negotiated Resolution Agreements.
During this quarter, the World Bank debarred Sunlabob Renewable Energy Co., Ltd. for 6 months as part of a Negotiated Resolution Agreement (NRA). The company misrepresented its expertise by including one of its ex-employees in a proposal.
The World Bank also entered into another NRA with Initec Energia S.A. and its two controlled affiliates. Under the terms of the NRA, the company and its affiliates are debarred for 5 months followed by an additional 19-month conditional non-debarment, for failure to disclose its agent commission payments under the World Bank-financed El Tebbin and Giza North Power Projects in Egypt.
When conditionally non-debarred, a firm remains eligible to participate in Bank-financed projects – but only if it fully meets certain conditions to step up its compliance program and cooperate with the World Bank Integrity Vice Presidency. If any of these conditions are not met, the firm will be automatically debarred.
Similarly, the World Bank settled with China Railway 20 Bureau Group Co., and its 37 controlled affiliates, in an Agreement that imposes a six-month debarment, followed by nine months of conditional non-debarment. China Railway 20 submitted a falsified prior contract which overstated that contract’s duration and value under the under the China Industry Relocation Project.
Finally, CDM Smith Inc. and its affiliates are conditionally non-debarred for 1.5 years. Under the terms of the NRA, this duration may be reduced to 15 months if, by then, CDM Smith has met its conditions for release. When executing a consulting contract financed by the Da Nang Priority Infrastructure Investment Project in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, CDM Smith failed to disclose a sub-consulting agreement with a local Vietnamese company, and did not seek a contractually-required written approval of the agreement from the Project implementing agency. CDM Smith subsequently fully and voluntarily disclosed this misconduct to the Bank, and fully cooperated with the Bank. Under the terms of its settlement, CDM Smith is required to adopt a Corporate Compliance Program consistent with the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines, and fully cooperate with the Bank in advancing its anticorruption work.
“During the past 8 years, the World Bank investigations portfolio included a diverse range of companies in terms of size, country of origin, corporate culture while covering misconduct of varying impact and magnitude,” said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity Vice President. “For many companies, proactivity in acknowledging misconduct, the level of cooperation with the investigative process and readiness to step up corporate compliance have been critical to a successful outcome of Negotiated Resolution Agreements and an entity’s future eligibility to engaging in the World Bank Group’s efforts to eliminate poverty.”
