WASHINGTON, January 29, 2015—The World Bank Group today announced the debarment of GKW Consult GmbH, following the company’s acknowledgment and cooperation with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency’s (INT) investigation of misconduct in an Urban Sanitation project in Liberia. Under the Negotiated Resolution Agreement (NRA), the company did not contest the World Bank’s evidence that one of its local employees accepted payments for himself to approve falsified documents for contractors under the World Bank-financed Emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation Project (“EMUS”) in Liberia.
Under the terms of the NRA, GKW Consult GmbH will be debarred for a period of 10 months and will also make a restitution payment of $325,000 in support of Liberia’s Ebola response efforts.
“The outcome of the case reflects the World Bank’s strong commitment to protecting the integrity of development projects at every phase of its implementation as part of our efforts to battling poverty and disease,” said Leonard Frank McCarthy, World Bank Integrity Vice President. “Companies, like GKW Consult GmbH, who, when notified of misconduct, self-investigate and take actions can offer a good example.”
As part of the NRA, the compliance management system of GKW Consult GmbH shall be reviewed to ensure consistency with the principles of the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. During the debarment period, GKW Consult GmbH will continue to cooperate with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency.
