The African Development Bank ( ADB) has debarred China Zhonghao Limited, employer of two Chinese recently arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for offering a bribe of N100 million to one of its officer, for 18 months, for fraudulent practices.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement signed by its Head of Media, Mr. Dele Oyewale, said the company was debarred for fraudulently misrepresenting its year of incorporation, value of its reference contracts and cognate experience of its key personnel while bidding for two tenders under ADB-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project for Oyo and Taraba States in Nigeria.
Debarment is the shutting out or exclusion of a company, an individual, an entity from certain rights, privileges or possessions owing to allegations of fraud, mismanagement or impropriety.
Reports available to the EFCC showed that, ADB’s office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that China Zhonghao Limited committed the fraudulent deals and debarred it from participating in projects, financed by the bank for a period of 18 months.
Aside the 18 months exclusion from the bank-financed projects, China Zhonghao stands debarred by other multilateral development banks like the World Bank group; Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-American Development Bank, owing to Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions among the banks.
The EFCC arraigned Meng Wei Kun and Xui Kuoi, two Chinese, working with China Zhonghao Limited at the Sokoto State High Court on Friday, on an allegation of bribery.