EBRD sanctions China's CGGC over fraud in Bosnian project

The sanction includes an 11-month debarment, during which CGGC is ineligible to participate in EBRD-financed projects, and a 24-month conditional non-debarment, the lender said in a press release on Wednesday.

"This is part of a settlement agreement under which CGGC admits culpability for the underlying prohibited practice and agrees to meet specified corporate compliance conditions in order to be released from the conditional non-debarment," the EBRD said.

According to the investigation's findings, CGGC misrepresented its prior work experience in the project involving the construction of Prenj tunnel in central Bosnia.

Under the settlement, if CGGC fulfills its obligations and cooperates fully with the EBRD, it will remain eligible for projects during the conditional non-debarment period. Failure to comply will result in a 24-month debarment, the EBRD added.

State-owned road construction company Autoceste FBiH disqualified CGGC, as well as Turkey's Ozaltin lnsaat Ticaret ve Sanayi Anonim Sirketi, from the Prenj tunnel project due to false documentation in their bids, local news provider Fokus reported earlier.

The whole project for the construction of the Prenj tunnel is estimated at 600 million euro ($647.4 million), financed by loans from the EBRD and European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as grants from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), according to an earlier statement by Autoceste FBiH.

($ = 0.927 euro)