WASHINGTON, October 9, 2009 — The World Bank's Integrity Vice President met with Keith McCarthy, Head of Operations, at the UK Serious Fraud Office to discuss furthering the cooperation agreement that was signed by the two institutions on June 29, 2009. "This is a significant milestone in advancing institutional efforts to mitigate corruption risks in World Bank-financed projects," said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity Vice President. "One of the topics we discussed today was a recent SFO corruption investigation involving a company that has also applied to the World Bank's Voluntary Disclosure Program. We are pleased to be part of a change that is impacting development effectiveness in ways that also engages the corporate community. Through the Voluntary Disclosure Program, we are engaging with corporate entities that are willing to change their practices and review their processes to better manage development resources and eliminate fraud and corruption in development projects."
Over the past two years, the World Bank Integrity Vice President has proactively pursued dialogue and collaboration initiatives with a number of global, regional and national entities to promote preventive measures and safeguard against fraud corruption in World Bank-financed projects. Other World Bank integrity initiatives include the establishment of regional prosecutor networks to facilitate synergies and sharing of lessons of experience while assisting in capacity building interventions targeting development professionals.
