AfDB debars China Zhonghao Nigeria Ltd over fraudulent practices

By Shedrack Onitsha,

The African Development Bank Group has debarred China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, a civil engineering company registered in Nigeria, for 18 months, for fraudulent practices.

According to a press release made available to ADVOCATE by APO Group, on behalf of African Development Bank Group, AfDB announced the debarment on 14 April 2020, which technically renders China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in Bank-financed projects during the debarment period

An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, as a member of a joint venture with Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Ltd., was jointly responsible for its joint venture partner’s fraudulent misrepresentations of its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts, and the experience of its key personnel, while bidding for two tenders under the Bank-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.

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The debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.

At the expiry of the debarment period, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited will only be eligible to participate in Bank-financed projects on the condition that it implements an integrity compliance program consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.

In June 2019, the Bank debarred Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Ltd., for a period of 48 months, for related fraudulent practices – https://bit.ly/3cwzgkh

The Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project is financed under the African Development Fund, an entity of the African Development Bank Group and aims at enhancing access to safe water supply services in the Nigerian states of Oyo and Taraba through, among other components, extension and rehabilitation works on the water transmission and distribution network.