World Bank debars record number of firms for fraud

[SINGAPORE] The World Bank is on the warpath against corruption and fraud, which are crippling its extensive development aid projects around the globe.

It debarred four times as many companies in the first seven months of this year as it did for the whole of last year; the number of debarments in that period has exceeded the total number from the past seven years combined.

From January through July, the international financial institution blacklisted more than 250 entities for fraud and corruption, making them ineligible for World Bank-financed contracts for specific periods.