The FINANCIAL -- WASHINGTON -- The World Bank welcomes the announcement today by the UK
Serious Fraud Office to order Macmillan Publishers Limited to pay a
substantial sum stemming from an SFO corruption investigation, which was
launched in response to a referral from the World Bank ’s Integrity
Vice-Presidency (INT).
“Today’s announcement is testament to the importance of unified global action against corruption to ensure efforts to educate the children of Sudan and other developing countries are not undermined by corruption,” said Stephen Zimmermann, Director of Operation, World Bank Integrity Vice Presidency. “The actions taken by British authorities in response to a referral from the World Bank are a clear signal that corruption impacting development will not escape the rule of law.”
In April 2010, the World Bank Group debarred Macmillan Limited, a U.K. company, declaring the company ineligible to be awarded Bank-financed contracts for a period of six years in the wake of the company’s admission of bribery payments relating to a Trust Fund-supported education project in Sudan. The debarment can be further reduced to three years depending upon the company implementing a compliance program and their cooperation with INT.
Following the INT investigation, the World Bank referred its findings to the UK authorities, which launched their own investigation.
“Corruption in any form is inexcusable, but corruption in an education program for children in a developing country is simply repugnant,” said Zimmermann. “To be truly effective in breaking the cycle of corruption, we must leverage the impact and deterrent effect of the World Bank ’s investigations and referrals. This is one of the primary objectives of the International Alliance that the World Bank launched in December 2010, of which Sudan is a member. As we join the Sudanese people in celebrating their independence, we remain committed to supporting their integrity efforts to secure a better future.”
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