AfDB, World Bank, others debar China Zhonghao after bribe offer to Nigeria’s EFCC

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and other international financial institutions have reportedly debarred China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited.

The firm was debarred from participating in projects financed by the bank for a period of 18 months.

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.

On Friday, EFCC Head of Media, Dele Oyewale, in a statement, said the company was indicted 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”.

The spokesman said reports available to the EFCC showed that AfDB’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that the firm committed the fraudulent deals.

“Aside the 18 months exclusion from the AfDB-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”, it read.

It would be recalled that the firm’s officials, Messrs Meng Wei Kun and Xu Koi, were arrested this week.

They were arrested for allegedly offering N50milion – with the promise of another N50million – as bribe to Sokoto Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The agency is probing China Zhonghao which won N50billion contracts awarded by the Zamfara State Government between 2012 to 2019.

The contract was for the construction of township roads in Gummi, Bukkuyun, Anka, Nasarawa towns.

It also included the provision of 168 solar-powered boreholes in 14 Local Government Areas.