The individual Respondent (“Respondent”) was a consultant advising the Executing Agency on procurement matters in connection with the Barbados Competitiveness Program (the “Program”). The Office of Institutional Integrity (“OII”) submitted a Statement of Charges and Evidence against the Respondent, among others, for allegedly engaging in a collusive practice related to the Program.  OII’s specific allegation against the Respondent was that during the procurement process, the Respondent entered into an arrangement with an employee of a prospective bidder, which was designed to improperly influence the award of a Bank-financed contract (the “Contract”). According to OII, the arrangement included: using the Respondent’s position to modify the technical requirement of the bidding documents, providing the bidder strategic advice regarding the firm’s proposal, and disclosing confidential information aimed at providing the prospective bidder an unfair advantage over competitors. Consequently, and in accordance with the Sanctions Procedures, the Sanctions Officer (“SO”) issued a Notice of Administrative Action (“Notice”) to the Respondent. The Respondent submitted a response to the Notice, in which he denied that he engaged in the collusive practice.

The SO determined that it was more likely than not that the Respondent engaged in a collusive practice. As a result, the SO imposed a sanction of debarment for a period of six (6) years, during which time the Respondent will be ineligible to participate or be awarded contracts for projects or activities financed by the Bank Group. In determining the sanction, the SO took into account various aggravating factors, including, the sophisticated means employed by the Respondent to evade detection, the Respondent’s role as an advisor to the Executing Agency that allowed him to orchestrate the prohibited practice, and the damage to the operations of the Bank, including the credibility of the procurement process. As a mitigating factor, the SO considered the Respondent’s cooperation during OII’s investigation.

The Respondent did not appeal the SO’s Determination to the Sanctions Committee during the prescribed appeal period. In accordance with the Sanctions Procedures, the imposed sanction entered into force and the Bank provided notice of this declaration of ineligibility to the other Multilateral Development Banks that are a party to the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions.