WASHINGTON, August 22, 2018— The World Bank today announced the 18-month debarment of Flycom d.o.o. (Flycom), a Slovenian provider of infrastructure services that engaged in corrupt practices under the Southern Africa Power Market Project (SAPMP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The debarment makes Flycom and its affiliates ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects. It is part of a Negotiated Resolution Agreement (“settlement agreement”), under which the company acknowledges responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practices and agrees to meet specified corporate compliance conditions as a condition for release from debarment.
The project was designed to improve the infrastructure for generating and transmitting electricity in the DRC. The project closed in September 2016. Flycom engaged in corrupt practices by making improper payments between 2010 and 2014 to a consultant engineer in relation to contracts Flycom received under the SAPMP.
The settlement agreement provides for reduced periods of debarment to reflect the company’s cooperation with the World Bank’s investigation. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company commits to developing an integrity compliance program consistent with the principles set out in the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. The company also commits to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarment of Flycom qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks (MDBs) under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions that was signed on April 9, 2010.
