The World Bank Group today announced the two-year and six-month debarment of Berky GmbH, a Germany-based company that specializes in water maintenance machines, in connection with collusive, fraudulent, and corrupt practices under the Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project in Myanmar.
The debarment makes Berky GmbH 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 contribute to the development of integrated river basin management on the Ayeyarwady River and, in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, to provide immediate and effective response to said eligible crisis or emergency.
According to the facts of the case, Berky GmbH entered into an arrangement to submit a second bid using its subsidiary's brand name, in order to increase the company's chances of benefiting from the contract, which is a collusive practice. Berky GmbH also failed to disclose the commission paid to a local Myanmar agent in its initial bid on and in a later amendment to the contract, which is a fraudulent practice. In addition, Berky GmbH provided a trip to Europe for three officials from the project management unit to improperly influence their acceptance of the equipment provided by the company under the contract, which is a corrupt practice.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of sanction in light of the company's extraordinary cooperation and voluntary remedial actions, which demonstrated a commitment by the company to take necessary steps to mitigate future integrity risks. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company commits to developing an integrity compliance program consistent with 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 Berky GmbH 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.
