The World Bank debarred a Chinese electrical equipment company Wednesday for 20 months for fraud involving a power project in Zambia.
Beijing-based Liaoning-EFACEC Electrical Equipment Company Limited (LEEEC) is ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects during the 20-month debarment.
LEEEC failed to disclose a conflict of interest and misrepresented its past contract experience, which is a fraudulent practice, the World Bank said.
The $210 million World Bank-funded project was designed to increase the capacity and improve the reliability of the electricity transmission and distribution system in Lusaka, Zambia.
LEEEC has 1,680 employees and seven subsidiaries, three based in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ukraine. It provides design, manufacturing, and maintenance services for power plants, substations, and transmission lines, mobile power plants, mobile substations, and mobile traction substations.
As a condition of the settlement, LEEEC acknowledged responsibility and took voluntary remedial actions. The company committed to developing an integrity compliance program and cooperate 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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