ABUJA (The Southern African Times) – The World Bank has banned 55 Nigerian companies for various procurement offences in the last 20 years.
In a note obtained by Ripples Nigeria on its website on Sunday, World Bank said at least 14 companies were blacklisted for fraud, and contract breaches among others till December 31, 2999.
Many of the firms were banned as far back as 2000 with four added this year.
The Bretton Woods institution said the affected firms and individuals are ineligible to participate in contract procedures for the periods indicated.
It wrote: “The entities are ineligible as a result of prohibited conduct defined in the applicable Procurement or Consultant Guidelines or in the World Bank Procurement Regulations for Investment Project Financing Borrowers; different guidelines may apply depending on the project at issue.
“The full scope of ineligibility resulting from debarment is described in the Bank Procedure: Sanctions Proceedings and Settlements in Bank Financed Projects.
“More information on the basis of each entity’s sanction is available in the “Grounds” column and/or in the Notes on Debarred Firms and Individuals PDF.”
The toughest sanctions were meted out to Gurpreet Singh Malik, Kamal Sharda, Karitex Limited Sharda Impex Limited, Vikram Deepak Gursahaney, Shereena Agriculture Limited, and Vikram Deepak Gursahaney, all registered in Lagos and Kano.
The companies were barred from participating in World Bank’s contract procedures for 999 years (2000-2999).
Those blacklisted this year are – Sargittarius Nigeria Limited, Sargittarius Henan Water Conservancy Engineering Limited, Asbeco Nigeria Limited and Maxicare Company Nigeria Limited
The companies listed will also face cross sanctions from other international firms.
The firms were banned from doing business with the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a specific period of time.
