Berlin, 21 April 1999

Transparency International, the anti-corruption NGO based in Berlin, has welcomed a recent move of the World Bank to debar an employee and three corporations from being awarded Bank-financed contracts. The debarment of the three British-registered corporations (Crown Sakura Ltd.; Chase Berkeley Cavendish Ltd. and Amani BP Ltd.) is permanent and was ordered by World Bank President James Wolfensohn who acted on the recommendation of the Bank's Sanctions Committee. The move comes as part of the Bank's overall anti-corruption plan.

Although the charges were disputed, the Sanctions Committee found that procurement guidelines, which are intended to prohibit corrupt or fraudulent practices in the procurement or execution of Bank-financed contracts, had been violated. The allegations concerned fraudulent activities which occurred in 1995 regarding procurements involving the supply of computer equipment to agencies of the Government of Turkmenistan.

The move has been applauded by Transparency International. "This is a positive development, highlighting the willingness of international organisations such as the World Bank to crack down on corrupt individuals and firms", remarked Executive Director Miguel Schloss.

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For further information ...

please contact:

Mr Miguel Schloss, Executive Director, tel +49-30-3438200, fax +49-30-34703912, e-mail: [email protected]
Ms Arwa Hassan, Press & Public Relations, [email protected]

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About TI: Transparency International was founded in 1993. It is the only global non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation devoted solely to containing corruption and increasing government accountability. There are currently more than 60 National Chapters in all continents, and TI's International Secretariat is in Berlin, Germany.

Transparency International (TI) Otto-Suhr-Allee 97-99, D-10585 Berlin, Germany Tel. (49-30) 343 820-0, Fax (49-30) 34 70 39 12
E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.transparency.org