The EBRD and four Egis entities reached a settlement over fraudulent practices in two EBRD-financed projects. The sanction consisted of a 33-month conditional ban. The settlement reduces the sanction due to voluntary disclosures and other corrective actions by the Egis entities.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that it has imposed a 33-month conditional ban on four consulting firms and two subsidiaries that are part of the French Egis group in connection with fraudulent practices under two EBRD-financed projects.
The consulting companies sanctioned following an investigation by the EBRD Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) are Egis International S.A.S., Egis Eau S.A.S., Egis Ukraina L.L.C. and Egis Rail S.A. (Egis entities).
The first project involves the rehabilitation of the wastewater infrastructure of Khorezm Oblast in Uzbekistan. During the project implementation phase, Egis International, Egis Eau and Egis Ukraina misrepresented the availability and involvement of a key expert.
The second project concerns the rehabilitation and electrification of an existing railway line connecting Alexandria city centre with the town of Abou Qir in north-eastern Egypt. In this case, Egis Rail did not disclose the involvement of a local representative in connection with the tender and execution of the contract.
The settlement agreement provides for a lower sanction in light of various mitigating factors such as internal detection, timely and voluntary disclosure, full co-operation during OCCO’s investigations, undertaking internal investigations and other corrective actions.
The sanction is part of a settlement agreement in which the Egis entities admit their guilt for the underlying fraudulent practices.
The Egis entities were sanctioned with a conditional embargo waiver, which will generally allow them to participate in Bank-financed projects if they comply with the terms of the settlement.
Can’t participate EBRD projects until 2 January 2027
Egis Ukraina and Egis Rail will remain eligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the EBRD, provided they comply with their obligations under the settlement agreement, including maintaining full co-operation with the EBRD.
Egis International and Egis Eau will not be eligible to participate in EBRD projects until 2 January 2027 due to a pre-existing and unrelated cross-embargo sanction. After this date, the two companies will be eligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the Bank if they fulfil the compliance conditions set out in the settlement.
According to the official statement, Egis companies agree to fulfil certain corporate compliance conditions, including the conduct of internal investigations related to EBRD-financed projects, in order to avoid the conditional exclusion. In case of non-compliance with the settlement conditions, the conditional debarment penalty will turn into a 24-month debarment penalty.
