The petition
What more does the Banks Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) Need?
The Complainant Authorized, Approved, Supported, Comprehensively Documented - Abused
The Legal Counsel - Convinced, Resolute - Determined
The Department of Institutional Integrity Isolated, non-communicative Incompetent
- Fraud, Corruption and Embezzlement in a World Bank Water Project
- Identified by an Armenian Parliamentary Commission Study in 2004
- Involving Tens of Millions of Dollars
- The Commission study observations were documented and submitted to the Bank and the INT in 2004
- The Commission Specialist was unethically exposed by the INT and has since been the subject of World Bank reprisals
- The Government Accountability Project is now Legal Counsel to the Commission Specialist (the Whistleblower)
- In March 2007, GAP submitted a formal claim on behalf of the whistleblower, in a Demand Letter to the INT
- The GAP Demand Letter lists Twelve Acts of Fraud, Corruption or Embezzlement, all of which are comprehensively documented
- The claim nominates the Projects International Consultant as the central participant in the wrongdoing and GAP has since included the World Bank Armenia Country Manager (2002-2006) as collaborator
- The action has formal Support from the British Government
- The Bank has recklessly and without justification, publicly denounced the claim and the INT continues to be non-committal about an investigation
Blowing the World Bank Whistle is an ongoing effort which started in 2004 with a Parliamentary Commission study into a World Bank financed project in the Republic of Armenia. It continues with an effort to persuade the Banks watchdog organization, the Department of Institutional Integrity (INT), to carry out a full investigation into the wide-ranging and high-level fraud, corruption and embezzlement, exposed by the study.
In 2004, the Parliamentary Commission Specialist reported the fraud, corruption and embezzlement to the World Bank Armenia Country Manager and to the Department of Institutional Integrity. The Department of Institutional Integrity provided details of the Specialist (The Whistleblower) to the Bank, and rather than resolving the problems, the Bank targeted the Whistleblower for punitive reprisals.
Despite ever-increasing commitments by the major international institutions to clamp down on corruption, including within the World Bank, it is virtually impossible to find an organization to support a claim against the Bank.
But in March 2007, Washingtons most influential human rights and freedom of speech organization, the Government Accountability Project (GAP), after an in-depth study of the documents, submitted a 'Demand Letter' to the INT, in support of a claim by the Whistleblower against the Bank. Later, the British Government, having been informed of the problems since the time of the study in 2004, formally added its support.
In September, GAP released a report of its study into the INT and highlighted four claims of corruption in World Bank projects. The Armenia claim was one of those projects, and because of the wide-ranging nature of the corruption, plus the comprehensive and compelling documented evidence, GAP singled it out with a special request to the INT to conduct a full investigation.
Prior to the GAP report, the World Banks Department of Institutional Integrity eventually responded to letters from GAP, explaining that the INT has three categories for claims, High, Medium and Low. Armenia had been categorized Medium and the INT would not commit to when or if a full investigation would be carried out.
The Volcker Panel then released the report of its study of INT operations, in which is written: The INT plays an important role in the Banks overall good governance and anti-corruption drive. But the Volcker Panel study found that the INT simply files low category claims, and medium category cases are not normally investigated. So although an Armenian Parliamentary Commission has exposed comprehensive and compelling evidence of fraud, corruption and embezzlement, including tens of millions of dollars, the details of which have been formally submitted to the World Banks Department of Institutional Integrity; according to Volcker, the Armenian people should not expect an INT inquiry.
In October, the recently appointed World Bank Armenia Country Manager convened a press conference and without justification, announced that the Bank and the INT had not found any evidence of deception or inadequate management related to the Yerevan water supply program, adding that the story was concluded for the Bank.
In November, GAPs International Programs Director travelled to Armenia to join the British Whistleblower in a meeting with the Banks Country Manager. GAPs Director and her client presented twelve packets of evidentiary documents to the Banks Country Manager, who explained that he had only one Parliamentary Commission document relating to the Project and he had not seen the evidentiary documents.
At the meeting, the World Bank Armenia Country Manager could not provide the justification for his reckless public announcement that claims of fraud, corruption and embezzlement associated with the Bank financed Municipal Development Project were unfounded. According to his own words, he had not even seen the evidentiary documents.
The petition will be submitted to Mr. Robert Zoellick, World Bank President, with a request that he instruct the Banks Department of Institutional Integrity to immediately carry out a full investigation, in close cooperation with GAP and the Whistleblower, who will receive a full report of the investigation findings.
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