The World Bank Group has announced a 21-month debarment with conditional release for Mauritius-based PricewaterhouseCoopers Associates Africa Ltd., PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited, Kenya, and PricewaterhouseCoopers Rwanda Limited over collusive and fraudulent practices linked to the Eastern Electricity Highway Project under the first phase of the Eastern Africa Power Integration Program in Ethiopia.
The project aimed to increase electricity supply and lower costs in Kenya while generating revenue for Ethiopia through power exports. According to the findings, the companies obtained confidential procurement information from project officials to improperly influence the awarding of a 2019 consultancy contract related to implementing International Financial Reporting Standards for the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation. The case record also indicates attempts to influence another contract—the Fixed Asset Inventory and Revaluation project for the Ethiopian Electric Utility—in favor of PwC Associates. During the selection and execution of that contract, PwC Associates allegedly misrepresented the availability, qualifications, and employment status of key experts and failed to fully disclose all subconsultants, actions considered collusive and fraudulent under the Bank Group’s Consultant Guidelines.
As a result of the sanction, PwC Associates, PwC Kenya, PwC Rwanda, and any affiliates they control are now ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the World Bank Group. The debarment is part of a settlement agreement in which the three companies acknowledged responsibility for the misconduct.
The settlement includes a reduced debarment period due to the companies’ admission of wrongdoing, cooperation during the investigation, and steps taken to strengthen their integrity compliance programs. These remedial measures included conducting an internal investigation, taking internal action against responsible individuals, ending business relationships with the involved subconsultants, providing staff training, and voluntarily refraining from bidding for World Bank–financed contracts during settlement negotiations. As a condition for release from debarment, the firms must develop and implement an integrity compliance program aligned with the Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. PricewaterhouseCoopers Africa Limited, which coordinates and oversees PwC network firms in Africa, signed the agreement as a non-sanctioned party due to its oversight role and will support compliance efforts, while the companies also agreed to continue cooperating with the Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarment may also be enforced by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions signed on April 9, 2010, potentially extending the impact of the sanction beyond the World Bank Group’s projects.
