The World Bank debarred a Chinese state-owned engineering and construction company Wednesday for 15 months for fraud involving a project in China.
Jiangxi Geo-Engineering (Group) Corporation (Jiangxi GE) is ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects during the 15-month debarment.
The company’s 14 wholly-owned subsidiaries were also debarred.
The $431 million World Bank-funded project was designed to improve the quality and efficiency of some public transport services in the Chinese cities of Harbin and Mudanjiang.
Jiangxi GE submitted a falsified completion certificate of a previous outside contract, which is a fraudulent practice under the World Bank Procurement Guidelines.
To mislead the bid evaluation committee and the project management office, the certificate falsely asserted that Jiangxi GE had completed the outside contract. Jiangxi GE didn’t ultimately win the contract, the World Bank said.
As a condition of the settlement, Jiangxi GE acknowledged responsibility and committed to adopt bid policies and complete corporate ethics training, and continue fully cooperating with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
Wednesday’s debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.
A list of all World Bank debarred entities and individuals is here.
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