The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has banned civil engineering firm Global Interjapan (Kenya) Limited from its projects after the company was found to have engaged in fraudulent practices.

The debarment was announced but is effective from August 24, 2020 and will last for 36 months.

“An investigation conducted by the bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Global Interjapan (Kenya) Limited engaged in fraudulent practices during a tender for the bank-financed Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project in Kenya,” the Pan African financier said in a statement.

The irrigation project is aimed at reducing poverty by enhancing agricultural productivity, income and food security among the residents of 11 counties in Kenya.

The debarment renders the company and its affiliates ineligible to participate in AfDB-financed projects during the three-year period.

The institution noted that the move 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.

The international financial institutions, which are mostly owned and financed by governments, have been keen to curb corruption in their projects which runs into billions of dollars annually.

“At the expiry of the debarment period, Global Interjapan (Kenya) 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,” AfDB said.

Global Interjapan adds to the list of Kenyan firms that have been banned by the international institutions over unethical practices.

https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/afdb-bans-kenyan-company-over-fraud-3293822