On February 17, 2021, the World Bank Group announced that it had issued a six-month conditional non-debarment with Bangladesh-based Golden Maritime Technology (GMT) as part of a settlement agreement. According to the World Bank’s press release, GMT prepared a bid for a World Bank-financed project, the Urban Resilience Project, and, as part of that bidding process, submitted “unauthorized documents with falsified signatures.”
The World Bank stated that GMT received a reduced sanctions period due to its cooperation with the World Bank and its implementation of voluntary remedial actions. Under the settlement, GMT remains eligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects as long as it complies with its settlement obligations; however, if GMT fails to meet its obligations within six months, the sanction will convert to a debarment with conditional release, making the company ineligible to participate in World Bank projects until the conditions for release are met. GMT’s settlement requires the company to bring its integrity compliance program in line with World Bank guidelines and to continue to cooperate with World Bank investigators.