The World Bank Group has announced a 21-month debarment of three PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) entities: PwC Associates Africa Ltd. (Mauritius), PwC Kenya, and PwC Rwanda. This sanction comes from collusive and fraudulent practices related to the Eastern Electricity Highway Project in Ethiopia, a project designed to facilitate electricity trade between Ethiopia and Kenya.
Under the terms of a settlement agreement, these firms are now ineligible to participate in any World Bank-financed operations, and the debarment is subject to cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks.
The investigation revealed that the PwC entities engaged in a scheme to improperly influence the award of two major consultancy contracts. In 2019, they obtained confidential procurement information from project officials to secure a contract for implementing International Financial Report Standards (IFRS). Furthermore, regarding the Fixed Asset Inventory and Revaluation (EEU FAIR) contract, PwC Associates was found to have misrepresented the qualifications, availability, and employment status of key experts, while also failing to disclose the use of certain sub-consultants.
PWC’s Path to Reinstatement
To be reinstated, the PwC entities must undergo a rigorous transformation of their internal operations, overseen by the World Bank’s Integrity Compliance Officer. The firms must conduct comprehensive, annual integrity risk assessments that evaluate their entire workforce, transactions, and partnerships to identify and minimize the potential for misconduct.
Before hiring or promoting individuals to sensitive positions, the entities must perform integrity vetting, which includes background checks and searches of public data to identify any history of misconduct or conflicts of interest.
The firms are now required to conduct risk-based due diligence on all business partners to engagement. They must also include audit rights and termination clauses in contracts if these partners behave inconsistently with integrity standards. PwC must implement specific limits on the type and monetary value of gifts, hospitality, and entertainment (G&E). Any G&E that could create an appearance of improper influence must be prohibited or require pre-approval from a high-ranking integrity officer.
The entities are mandated to establish secure, anonymous reporting channels and must strictly prohibit retaliation against any employee or third party who reports suspected misconduct.
As part of the settlement, the entities admitted culpability and have already taken remedial steps, such as terminating relationships with involved sub-consultants and taking internal action against responsible parties.
Notably, PricewaterhouseCoopers Africa Limited, which provides regional oversight, signed the agreement as a non-sanctioned party to ensure these member firms comply with the new integrity standards. The firms must now prove that these programs are consistently implemented in good faith to regain their eligibility for World Bank projects.
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