The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) debarred a Belgian engineering and consultancy company Monday for three years and ten months for fraudulent and corrupt practices related to a project in Haiti.
Brussels-based Tractebel Engineering S.A. is ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the IDB during the 46-month debarment.
According to the IDB, Tractebel failed to disclose fees paid to agents and misrepresented the availability of an individual designated as “key personnel.” A Tractebel subcontractor also offered paid positions to former colleagues who were government officials.
As part of the settlement, Tractebel entered into a Negotiated Resolution Agreement with the IDB without either admitting or contesting the findings. Tractebel voluntarily restrained from bidding in IDB Group-financed activities during the negotiations and took corrective actions, the IDB said.
Tractebel also committed to retaining an independent third-party consultant to analyze its compliance program and to continue to cooperate with the IDB’s Office of Institutional Integrity (OII).
The IDB said all “the facts under investigation occurred in 2015-2016 under a former management team and organizational structure” of Tractebel.
Tractebel was founded in 1862 and now employs around 5,000 people globally.
The debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the African Development Bank.
A list of all IDB debarred entities and individuals is here.
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