African Development Bank slams 12-month ban on Ugandan company for fraud

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on 17 April 2020, announced a 12-month conditional non-debarment of Zhongmei Engineering Group Limited, an engineering company registered in Uganda.

An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Zhongmei Engineering Group Limited engaged in fraudulent practice during a bidding process under the Road Sector Support Project 5. While submitting a bid for the tender for the Upgrading of the Rukungiri-Kihihi-Ishaka/Kanungu Road in Uganda, the company misrepresented its date of incorporation.

The AfDB said during the conditional non-debarment period, the company remained eligible to participate in its(AfDB) financed projects provided it undertook a corporate integrity compliance programme in accordance with the Bank’s Integrity Compliance Guidelines. Otherwise, the bank said, conditional non-debarment would be converted to a sanction of debarment with conditional release meaning that the company would then become ineligible to participate in AfDB-financed projects until the conditions for its release are met.

The Road Sector Support Project 5 is financed under the African Development Fund, an entity of the African Development Bank Group.