World Bank and the Regional Development Banks Developments – In addition to the new cross-debarment agreement, there have been other recent changes in the anti-corruption programs conducted by the World Bank and the Regional Development Banks. Contractors need to be aware of the following five:

1. The World Bank and the Regional Development Banks have always listed on their web sites the companies and persons sanctioned. Now, they also are publicizing the cases which they consider to be significant successes. Both the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank publish annual reports devoted to their anti-corruption programs. The most publicized case is the settlement entered by Siemens, which agreed not to bid on World Bank contracts for four years and to pay the Bank $100 million over a 15-year period. (Only one subsidiary of Siemens was debarred –a Russian subsidiary.)
2. The World Bank has stated that it may provide information obtained from its investigations to enforcement authorities in the country where the offense allegedly took place or the home country of the offending party. In the United States, that could mean the Department of Justice’s fraud section or the SEC, because of their responsibilities for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
3. Previously, sanctions were prospective only, and the World Bank did not assert that it would seek to recover sums expended. Now, the World Bank states that its sanctions include the authority to halt an on-going contract and to recover improperly expended money.
4. The World Bank has instituted a voluntary disclosure program, inviting those who know of fraud and corruption on their Bank contracts to voluntarily disclose that information and in exchange receive immunity from sanctions, as long as they cooperate in the Bank’s investigation of those matters. The program provides for a monitor of the self-reporting company for up to three years. Reportedly, the Bank is reviewing and revising the “VDP.”
5. Neither the World Bank nor the Regional Development Banks have the power to subpoena documents or witnesses. But, their agreements usually have provisions granting them the right to audit their contracts, and those provisions have been used in investigations to inspect accounts and documents.

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