The World Bank Group today announced the 21-month debarment of Africa Development Professional Group Ltd. (ADP), a company that provides consultancy and advisory services on management, investments, business solutions, corporate finance and business development, in connection with a fraudulent practice as part of the Somalia Capacity Injection Project.
The debarment makes ADP ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World Bank Group. 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.
The project was designed to strengthen the staffing and institutional capacity of selected line ministries and central agencies to perform core government functions. According to the facts of the case, ADP recklessly omitted the disclosure of a conflict-of-interest relationship when submitting a proposal for a contract under the project, which is a fraudulent practice.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of 21 months in light of the company’s cooperation and voluntary remedial actions. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company commits to developing and implementing appropriate integrity compliance measures that reflect the principles set out in the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. The company also commits to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarment of ADP 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.