The Corporate Respondent (“Respondent”) was awarded a contract to build a substation for medium voltage electrical lines in connection with the Rehabilitation of the Electricity Distribution System in Port-au Prince. The Office of Institutional Integrity (“OII”) submitted a Statement of Charges and Evidence against the Respondent, among others, alleging that the Respondent, acting through its Chief Executive Officer, committed a fraudulent practice when it misrepresented its financial qualifications in order to mislead the government into believing that the firm met the requirements to participate in the bidding process. OII’s specific accusation was that the Respondent engaged in a fraudulent practice in its bid, by overstating its income in the submitted financial statements in order to comply with the income requirements stipulated in the bidding documents. Consequently, and in accordance with the Sanctions Procedures, the Sanctions Officer (“SO”) issued a Notice of Administrative Action (“Notice”) to the Respondent. In the Response to the Notice, the Respondent denied the allegations presented by OII.

The SO determined there was insufficient evidence to find under the preponderance of evidence that the Respondent misrepresented its financial position in its bid. Accordingly, the SO was unable to conclude that it was more likely than not that the Respondent engaged in the alleged fraudulent practice, dismissed the charges and terminated the proceedings. The SO Determination was final.