In a bid to push a stronger front against corruption, five multilateral banks led by the World Bank have agreed to jointly ban companies found to have rigged contracting procedures, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank are set to formalize April 9 in Luxembourg an agreement centralizing the debarment of firms proved to be involved in shady deals in any of the banks.
“This will bring the forces of all the banks together…We will know our investigation and debarments will resonate elsewhere. That will increase pressure (on firms),” said the World Bank’s anti-corruption chief, Leonard McCarthy.
In their separate lists, the World Bank, IDB and ADB have blacklisted a total of 828 firms and individuals. The AfDB has yet to implement debarment procedures, while EBRD hardly bars firms as its operations mostly involve the private sector.