Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom M who wrote (61777)	12/6/2000 11:14:21 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116759

<<. Guess my gut feel of Billions was off by a few 000's. <g> >> Yes, misspelled I sure author meant with a "T".

To: Tom M who wrote (61777)	12/7/2000 9:01:42 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116759

So, not all the banking problems were "simple mistakes"(!!!): Wednesday December 6 3:49 PM ET World Bank Fires 3 in Kickback Case BY HARRY DUNPHY, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The World Bank has fired three employees suspected of accepting kickbacks from Swedish firms and referred the case to authorities in the United States and Sweden for possible prosecution, the bank said Wednesday. The lending organization estimated ``the value of the contracts tainted by corruption or ineligible activity'' at just under $900,000 and said it would reimburse that amount to the trust funds its 182 member governments hold with the organization. The employees worked at World Bank's international headquarters in Washington, said spokeswoman Caroline Anstey. Citing legal reasons, she would not identify them or the departments where they worked. If they are prosecuted, their names will be made public, Anstey said. The bank's internal fraud squad was alerted to the alleged kickback scheme through a call placed to the bank's corruption hot line. The hot line was established in 1998 as part of a series of anti-corruption measures World Bank President James Wolfensohn implemented. Two unidentified bank employees were fired in September 1998 for allegedly misusing $110,000 in a Japanese government-sponsored fund for personal gain. Anstey would not comment on other investigations by the fraud squad of former bank employees. A Justice Department (news - web sites) spokesman, John Russell, said the bank probably will contact the U.S. attorney's office about the case, ``and then we would review the matter and see if prosecution is warranted.'' The bank said the tainted contracts ``were financed by various consultant trust funds that the World Bank administers on behalf of its member governments. The World Bank will reimburse the trust funds for the value of all the contracts that were used to fund ineligible activity or that were awarded as a result of kickbacks or other corrupt actions.'' In Stockholm, Astrid Dufborg, assistant director-general of the Swedish International Development Corp., which finances the World Bank's Swedish Consultant Trust Funds, said she could not say how much money is involved. ``The World Bank investigation shows about $513,135 of the $6.983 million that SIDC has contributed to the Swedish Consultant Trust Fund are missing,'' Dufborg said. Anstey said other trust funds were involved in the alleged scheme. Dufborg also said that while the bank believes that Swedish companies did the bribing, ``we are not certain that the companies were fully Swedish or even if they exist. We believe that they are fictitious companies.'' Anstey said the organization is ``dismayed that companies would try to entice staff'' by offering kickbacks, ``and even more dismayed that three staff actually responded.'' However, she said the bank was comforted that the hot line led to the discovery of these activities, showing ``the system is working.'' The bank said it probably will name companies involved in the alleged scheme and bar them from further work on bank contracts. Since 1998, 53 companies have been barred by the bank. Their names are posted on the World Bank's World Wide Web site. - On the Net: World Bank: worldbank.org List of companies not allowed to do business with the World Bank: worldbank.org dailynews.yahoo.com