The World Bank today announced the six-year debarment of an individual in connection with collusive, corrupt, and fraudulent practices under the Da Nang Sustainable City Development Project and the Hanoi Urban Transport Development Project in Vietnam.
The debarment makes Mr. James Tinnion-Morgan ineligible to participate in World Bank Group-financed projects. It is part of a settlement agreement under which Mr. Tinnion-Morgan acknowledges responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practices and agrees to meet specified compliance requirements as a condition for release from debarment.
The Da Nang Sustainable City Development Project is designed to expand city residents' access to improved drainage, wastewater collection and treatment services, the arterial road network, and public transport in selected areas of Da Nang City. The Hanoi Urban Transport Development Project was designed to increase urban mobility in targeted areas in Hanoi by increasing the use of public transport in selected traffic corridors and reducing travel time between the city center and the west and northwest sections of the city, and to promote more environmentally sustainable transport modes and urban development plans for Hanoi.
According to the facts of the case, Mr. Tinnion-Morgan improperly influenced the tendering processes under the two projects, solicited bribes, and failed to disclose his business relationship with a bidder. These are collusive, corrupt, and fraudulent practices, respectively.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of debarment with conditional release in light of Mr. Tinnion-Morgan's cooperation and voluntary remedial actions. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, Mr. Tinnion-Morgan commits to take compliance trainings consistent with the principles set out in the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. Mr. Tinnion-Morgan also commits to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarment of Mr. Tinnion-Morgan 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.
