World Bank Group Sanctions Board

When World Bank Group project funding is not used for its intended purpose, it hurts the poorest and most vulnerable people. This report documents how the sanctions system—the Integrity Vice Presidency, the Office of Suspension and Debarment, and the Sanctions Board and its Secretariat—worked to help ensure that funds were used as intended.

The world is facing a pivotal moment of urgent global challenges for development. It is critical for the World Bank Group remain vigilant against corruption in the projects it finances. This report documents how the offices of the World Bank Group's sanctions system worked in FY23 to help ensure that the Banks’s funds are used in a transparent and accountable manner and only for their intended purposes.

This report documents how, in a time of increasingly complex global challenges and historic development support by the World Bank Group, the offices of the sanctions system worked in FY22 to help ensure that the Bank’s funds are used in a transparent and accountable manner and only for their intended purposes.

Prepared jointly by the World Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency, Office of Suspension and Debarment, and Sanctions Board, the report illustrates how the institution’s sanctions system has worked in FY21 to meet the challenges and opportunities of an ever-changing global anticorruption landscape.

Despite unprecedented challenges in FY20, the World Bank Group Sanctions System maintained its anticorruption mission to investigate and adjudicated allegations of fraud and corruption in Bank-financed projects, safeguarding development resources.

The Sanctions System FY19 Annual report details the World Bank Group's efforts to investigate and adjudicate allegations of fraud and corruption in Bank projects, safeguarding donor resources for development.

This inaugural report is the result of efforts by INT, OSD and the Sanctions Board to prepare a joint overview of the World Bank Group's Sanctions System and its activities over the past year.

The World Bank Group Sanctions Board and Secretariat are pleased to announce the issuance of the Third Edition of the Sanctions Board Law Digest, published in April 2023. The new edition addresses key recent precedent and trends in sanctions cases, and introduces some new members of the Sanctions Board.

The Sanctions Board Secretariat is pleased to announce the publication of the 2019 WB Sanctions Board Law Digest. The Law Digest reviews the Sanctions Board’s holdings in more than 100 decisions issued since 2007 and provides additional information on the work of the Sanctions Board to date. The many topics covered in this publication include assessment of various allegations of misconduct, factors that affect the choice of sanction, and the Sanctions Board’s treatment of various procedural issues and requests in the course of sanctions proceedings.

The 2011 Law Digest summarizes for informational purposes the evolving case law of the Sanctions Board from its inception in 2007 through October 31, 2011. The Law Digest, as prepared by the Sanctions Board Secretariat and reviewed by Sanctions Board members, comprises two parts: Case Summaries and a Case Digest. The Case Summaries provide a brief synopsis of the allegations, outcome, and procedural framework for each case. The Case Digest entries illustrate the legal principles and considerations applied by the Sanctions Board based on the facts and circumstances presented in each case.

The June 2024 Sanctions Board's Newsletter shares updates about recent Sanctions Board membership changes, decisions, and select sanctions data. 

The Sanctions Board's Newsletter shares updates about recent Sanctions Board membership changes, decisions, and select sanctions data.

The December 2022 Sanctions Board's Newsletter shares updates about recent Sanctions Board membership changes, decisions, and select sanctions data. 

This inaugural edition of the Sanctions Board's Newsletter shares updates about recent Sanctions Board membership changes, decisions, and select sanctions data. 

The article discusses how the Sanctions Board continuously clarifies and refines the reach and bounds of the sanctions system through its publicly available body of precedent-setting decisions.

The Sanctions Board Secretariat is continuing its role as a thought-leader in the anti-corruption space with the publication of a piece on the Sanctions Board's nuanced and predictable approach to selecting proportionate sanctions. This article specifically discusses the selection of sanctions in fraud cases, including whether debarment for fraud is fair and appropriate.

The articles discusses how the Sanctions Board has endeavored to be ever more agile and adaptive – including through holding hearings and resolving cases virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic and more.

The article discusses how the Sanctions Board's diverse composition contributes to its effective decision-making and the credibility of the Sanctions System.

The article discusses the importance of international coordination in addressing corruption.