By Emmanuel Oluebube
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on April 14 2020, announced the debarment of a civil engineering company registered in Nigeria, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited for 18 months, for fraudulent practices.
An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, as a member of a joint venture with Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Ltd., was jointly responsible for its joint venture partner’s fraudulent misrepresentations of its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts, and the experience of its key personnel, while bidding for two tenders under the Bank-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.
The debarment renders China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in Bank-financed projects during the debarment period. The debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.
At the expiry of the debarment period, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited will only be eligible to participate in Bank-financed projects on condition that it implements an integrity compliance program consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.
In June 2019, the Bank debarred Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Ltd. for a period of 48 months, for related fraudulent practices .
The Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project is financed under the African Development Fund, an entity of the African Development Bank Group and aims at enhancing access to safe water supply services in the Nigerian states of Oyo and Taraba through, among other components, extension and rehabilitation works on the water transmission and distribution network.
African Development Bank staff and the general public can use the following secured hotlines to report sanctionable practices within the Bank or operations financed by the Bank Group:
Secured telephone: +1 (770) 776-5658
Secured email server: investigations@iacd-afdb.org
Mail correspondence should be marked “CONFIDENTIAL” and sent to:
African Development Bank
Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption
Immeuble du Centre de commerce International d’Abidjan CCIA
Avenue Jean-Paul II
01 BP 1387
Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire
The Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption of the African Development Bank Group is responsible for preventing, deterring and investigating allegations of corruption, fraud and other sanctionable practices in Bank Group-financed operations.
