The World Bank has declared the exclusion of two Pakistani consultancy firms, Solutions for Development Support (Pvt) Ltd and Community Resilience Initiative, along with Pakistani citizen Malik Nasir Hussain Tanoli, due to fraudulent activities in connection with the Sindh Resilience Project.

The exclusion, effective immediately, bars the entities and Tanoli from participating in projects financed by the World Bank Group until October 20, 2027.

This decision follows a settlement in which the implicated parties admitted to their roles in the fraudulent acts and agreed to adhere to strict integrity compliance measures to be lifted from the debarment.

The Sindh Resilience Project, which the firms were involved in, focuses on reducing flood and drought risks in Sindh and enhancing the region’s disaster and public health emergency response capabilities.

Investigations revealed that the sanctioned firms and Tanoli did not disclose their interconnection during the tender processes for the project, while Tanoli was employed as a procurement and contract management specialist for the Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

This lack of transparency breaches the World Bank’s Consultant Guidelines.

As part of the settlement, the sanctioned parties must implement integrity compliance programs aligned with the World Bank’s standards.

Furthermore, Tanoli is required to complete corporate ethics training, and all parties must maintain cooperation with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency.

This debarment may also trigger reciprocal exclusions by other global development banks under the 2010 cross-debarment agreement.