The World Bank debarred a Spanish engineering services company Wednesday for three-and-a-half-years for collusive, corrupt, and fraudulent practices related to two projects in Vietnam.
Madrid-based Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas S.A.U., a subsidiary of Spanish international technology group GMV, is ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the World Bank Group during the 42-month debarment.
According to the World Bank, some of the company’s former management colluded with two designing consultants to gain unfair competitive advantages in two tendering processes. They also agreed to pay a commission to the consultant’s agent to influence the tender process and win a contract.
The company additionally failed to disclose its involvement in drafting the tendering documents for the two projects.
Those actions were collusive, corrupt, and fraudulent practices, respectively, as defined by the World Bank’s Sanctions Procedures.
The two Vietnam projects funded by the World Bank were the $272 million Danang Sustainable City Development Project and the $295 million Hanoi Urban Transport Development Project.
According to its website, GMV has over 2,000 employees, over $280 million in annual revenue, and is owned by a private equity group.
The settlement agreement provides for a significantly reduced period of debarment with conditional release in light of Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas’s “extraordinary cooperation,” including voluntarily stepping back from World Bank projects during the audit, remedial actions, and compliance enhancements.
The company did not contest culpability and responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practices, which occurred under a former management team. It also agreed to meet specified compliance requirements as a condition for release from debarment, the World Bank said.
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.
Comments are closed for this article!