World Bank blacklists Videocon for 3 yrs
New Delhi: Accusing the Venugopal Dhoot-led Videocon of indulging in fraud and corrupt practices in dealings with it, the World Bank has bl a ck l i s t e d the Indian company for three years, ending January 11, 2013. Videocon Industries has been barred from doing any business with World Bank for violating “procurement guidelines”, for a period of three years, beginning January 11, 2010, a notification on the Bank’s website said. The World Bank had taken a similar tough line with Satyam months before the IT company’s founder chairman confessed to an accounting fraud. However, the group has already moved a petition to revoke the ban. “We approached the World Bank in February, 2010, to revoke the ban ... after some hearings, we hope it will be done,” Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said, shortly after the global lender’s decision became public. Dhoot said that the action came on account of wrong information given by one of its employees in a tender in 2003 for supplying airconditioners worth about $50,000. “We suspended that employee and took disciplinary action. We have so far not supplied anything to the World Bank,” he said, adding that given the size of the group this was not a very significant order and his firms would not do anything wrong for securing any supply order. Videocon was sent a “letter of reprimand subsequent to an administrative process”, permitting the company to respond to the allegations, the bank said. Videocon’s name has been listed among firms and individuals ineligible to be awarded a World Bank-financed contract, as it has violated fraud and corruption provisions of the procurement guidelines. “The period of ineligibility of Videocon Industries extends to any firm directly or indirectly controlled by the sanctioned firm,” World Bank said. It further said that the ineligibility might be reduced by up to one year, if after two years of ineligibility, the bank finds that Videocon has taken “satisfactory” remedial actions. AGENCIES -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en.
