World Bank blacklists Kenyan firm over fraud in multi-million project in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - World Bank says it has blacklisted a Kenyan firm following fraud in a multi-million project undertaken within Somalia, which was funded by the global lender, which is keen to resuscitate the economy of the Horn of Africa nation.

According to World Bank, investigations done indicated that African Development Professional Group, a Nairobi-based consultancy firm, had engaged in fraudulent practices during a bank-funded project in Somalia.

For 21 months, ADP and its subsidiaries will be ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects, the global lender noted in a statement.

“The debarment makes ADP ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World Bank Group,” said the World Bank in a statement.

“The [Somalia] project was designed to strengthen the staffing and institutional capacity of selected line ministries and central agencies to perform core government functions.”

The debarment also qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank [AfDB], The Citizen reported.

As a fair practice, financial institutions have been playing a key role in fighting corruption by flagging suspicious payments or even improper documentation during payments.

“The debarment makes ADP ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World Bank Group,” said the bank.

“It is part of a settlement agreement under which the company acknowledges responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practices and agrees to meet specified corporate compliance conditions as a condition for release from debarment.”

Somalia depends on several financial partners to sustain its economy and World Bank has been key in supporting various projects including road infrastructure among others. The country is struggling to normalize operations after years of civil war.

GAROWE ONLINE