Agreement follows heightened efforts by World Bank to protect funds, counter corruption
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2011— The World Bank today announced that it has debarred seven Indonesian firms, following investigations by the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) and the firms’ acknowledged misconduct relating to two separate projects in Indonesia.
Under a negotiated resolution agreement, the consulting firm PT. Lenggogeni was declared ineligible to participate in Bank-financed activities for a period of three years, and may be released from debarment after that period, provided it implements an effective corporate compliance program and fully cooperates with the World Bank. This is the first negotiated resolution agreement with a local firm that results in debarment. In response to INT’s findings, the Government of Indonesia conducted its own audit of the project.
Six other firms that provided consultant services under a water resources management project in Indonesia were also subject to sanctions as a result of separate negotiated resolution agreements, rendering them ineligible to participate in Bank-financed activities for a period of 27 months each. The six firms, namely PT. Bina Karya, PT. Cipta Sanita Mandiri, PT. Sehat Pratama Sejati, PT. Tricon Jaya, PT. DDC Consultants and PT. Jasa Mitra Manunggal, may be released from debarment at the end of the period of ineligibility, provided they implement effective corporate compliance programs and fully cooperate with the World Bank.
As part of the World Bank’s efforts to continue broadening the impact of its anticorruption work, these debarments by the World Bank will be eligible for cross-debarment by other participating multilateral development banks.
“The World Bank is pushing a strong offensive to remove the conditions that allow corruption to exist,” said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Vice President for Integrity. “We’ve changed how we operate. Newer instruments like negotiated resolution enable us to more efficiently conclude investigations related to the misuse of Bank funds. At the same time, we’re bringing the best people to the fight and coordinating our efforts around the world—ultimately there will be no room left for criminals.”
McCarthy recently convened a high-level dialogue on Global Enforcement to Counter Corruption during the World Bank’s Spring Meetings. The event brought together for the first time Richard Alderman (Serious Fraud Office), Giovanni Kessler (European Anti-Fraud Office), Boon Hui Khoo (INTERPOL), Luis Moreno-Ocampo (International Criminal Court), Kevin Perkins (FBI), and Benjamin Zymler (Court of Audit, Brazil) to discuss coordination of the global fight against corruption. The six men endorsed a Declaration of Agreed Principles for Effective Global Enforcement to Counter Corruption. The World Bank also unveiled a matrix of performance measures that can capture the activities of anti-corruption authorities.
