The Inter-American Development Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has adopted a strategy to strengthen its anti-corruption efforts in all areas of operations.
For its lending programs to Latin America and the Caribbean, the Bank will expand projects in areas such as civil service reform, support of corporate governance structures, and upgrading of accounting and auditing standards.
Increased support will also be emphasized for anti-money laundering programs of the borrowing country members.
At the same time, the Bank will continue its ongoing programs in support of modernization of the state, including justice systems, good governance, strengthening of civil society, and increased competitiveness.
The anti-corruption action plan incorporates the need to continue to ensure that procurement related to the Bank’s financing activities is transparent and that the Bank’s rights in the event of fraud or corruption in the procurement process are clearly specified in its procurement documents.
Regarding the institution’s internal control environment, the strategy emphasizes the need to upstream preventive controls in Bank projects and to have proper risk assessments so as to strengthen risk controls during the project cycle.
With regard to internal administration, the Bank will update its Code of Ethics, take steps to make staff and consultants more familiar with the code, and review current policies and procedures for Bank internal procurement.
To monitor the continued anti-corruption activities at the Bank, a committee will be set up consisting of the Executive Vice President, the Vice President for Planning and Administration, the General Counsel and the Auditor General.
The Bank’s strategy to strengthen its anti-corruption efforts will be disseminated on the IDB’s Internet Website: www.iadb.org