WASHINGTON, December 12, 2022 – The World Bank Group today announced the 18-month debarment of Mr. Joshua Chalapan Nari, a Vanuatu national, in connection with a fraudulent practice as part of the Vanuatu Rural Electrification Project.
The debarment makes Mr. Nari, and any firms or other individuals that he controls, ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World Bank Group. It is part of a settlement agreement under which he acknowledges responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practice and agrees to meet specified compliance conditions as a condition for release from debarment.
The project was designed to scale up access to electricity services for rural households, aid posts, and community halls located in dispersed off-grid areas in Vanuatu. Mr. Nari worked as an individual consultant for the project. According to the facts of the case, from 2016 through 2020, Mr. Nari misrepresented in his project output verification reports that he had conducted all the required underlying verifications, per the terms of his contract, when in fact he had not done so. This is a fraudulent practice under the World Bank’s 2011 Guidelines for Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of debarment in light of Mr. Nari’s cooperation, acceptance of responsibility, and voluntary restraint from seeking additional World Bank-financed contracts. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, Mr. Nari commits to undertaking corporate ethics training that demonstrates a commitment to personal integrity and business ethics; commits that any firms or other individuals that he controls will implement a corporate ethics training program; and commits to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarment of Mr. Nari qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks (MDBs) under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions that was signed on April 9, 2010.