WASHINGTON, March 19, 2025-The World Bank Group today announced the two-year debarment with conditional release of Italy-based Panaque, S.R.L. ("Panaque") and its sole director, Mr. Oscar Di Santo, in connection with collusive, fraudulent, and corrupt practices as part of the Second Institutional Development and Agricultural Strengthening Project in Montenegro.
The project provides funding to improve the competitiveness of agriculture and fisheries in Montenegro through enhanced delivery of government support in alignment with EU accession requirements. According to the facts of the case, between 2019 and 2020, Panaque and Mr. Di Santo had access to confidential information relating to-and were involved in the preparation of-certain aspects of a tender that Panaque bid for and won under the project. Those circumstances created a conflict of interest that Panaque and Mr. Di Santo failed to disclose in Panaque's bid. Panaque and Mr. Di Santo also made an improper payment to a public official during contract execution. These acts constitute collusive, fraudulent, and corrupt practices under the World Bank's Procurement Regulations and Anti-Corruption Guidelines.
The debarments make Panaque and Mr. Di Santo, and any firms or individuals that either of them controls, ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the institutions of the Bank Group. These debarments are part of settlement agreements under which Panaque and Mr. Di Santo each acknowledge responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practices and agree to meet specified integrity compliance conditions as a condition for release from debarment.
The settlement agreements provide for reduced periods of debarment in light of Panaque's and Mr. Di Santo's minor role in the misconduct, compliance efforts, cooperation, acceptance of responsibility, and voluntary restraint from seeking additional Bank Group-financed contracts. As conditions for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreements, Panaque commits to developing and implementing integrity compliance measures that reflect the relevant principles set out in the Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines; and Mr. Di Santo commits to undertaking corporate ethics training. In addition, any affiliate that Mr. Di Santo currently controls or comes to control, directly or indirectly, during the period of the World Bank Group sanction will be required to implement appropriate integrity compliance measures. Both Panaque and Mr. Di Santo further commit to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarments of Panaque and Mr. Di Santo qualify for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks (MDBs) under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions signed on April 9, 2010.
