The World Bank debarred an Indian power transmission company Wednesday for a year and a day for fraud involving projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Egypt.
During the debarment, Gujarat-based Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd. (KPTL) and 12 global subsidiaries are ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects.
The $252.5 million World Bank-funded project in the DRC was designed to facilitate further development of an efficient power market in Southern Africa.
In Egypt, the $796 million World Bank-funded project was intended to develop infrastructure and business models for scaling-up wind power.
According to the World Bank, KPTL omitted the disclosure of intended payments to third parties when submitting bids for the two projects, which is considered a fraudulent practice under the World Bank Consultant Guidelines.
According to KPTL’s website, the company has operations in over 50 countries. Last year, KPTL acquired most of a Sweden-based power transmission company, Linjemontage i Grästorp AB. Wednesday’s debarment also covered Linjemontage i Grästorp.
As a condition of the settlement, KPTL cooperated with the investigation and took voluntary remedial actions. The company agreed to develop an integrity compliance program and cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The 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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