"The blacklist for international aid projects expands
BRIBERY, fraud and corruption are not good things. But they bedevil the World Bank's activities. So far this year the international lending organisation has debarred over 250 individuals and companies from participating in projects that it finances—as many as over the previous seven years combined. The bank invested around $200 billion in poor countries in the past five years, and conducted over 600 investigations of misconduct. Almost a third of those currently on the blacklist hail from North America. Yet this year's numbers are somewhat inflated by the inclusion of SNC-Lavalin, a large Canadian multinational construction firm. The company and its affiliates (more than 70 in North America and a further 30 around the world) were debarred in April chiefly over a $3 billion bridge project in Bangladesh. Overall, the increase in debarments is likely a sign that the World Bank is cracking down on corruption, not that it is growing.
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment