The Seven Prohibited Practices under AIIB’s Policy on Prohibited Practices are:
- Coercion: Impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or harm, directly or indirectly, any party or the property of a party to influence improperly the actions of a party.
- Collusion: An arrangement between two or more parties designed to achieve an improper purpose, including to influence improperly the actions of another party.
- Corruption: The offering, giving, receiving or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another party.
- Fraud: Any act or omission, including misrepresentation, that knowingly or recklessly misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial or other benefit or to avoid an obligation.
- Misuse of Resources: Improper use of the Bank’s resources, carried out either intentionally or through reckless disregard.
- Obstruction: Any of the following practices:
- Deliberately destroying, falsifying, altering or concealing evidence material to a Bank investigation.
- Making false statements to investigators in order to materially impede a Bank investigation into allegations of a Prohibited Practice.
- Failing to comply with requests to provide information, documents or records in connection with a Bank investigation.
- Threatening, harassing or intimidating any party to prevent it from disclosing its knowledge of matters relevant to a Bank investigation or from pursuing the investigation.
- Materially impeding the exercise of the Bank’s contractual rights of audit or inspection or access to information.
- Theft: The misappropriation of property belonging to another party.
“Fraud and corruption” is the generic and collective term for activities that are considered Prohibited Practices under AIIB’s Policy on Prohibited Practices, namely: Coercion, Collusion, Corruption, Fraud, Misuse of Resources, Obstruction and Theft.
If you suspect fraud and corruption in any of AIIB’s projects, contracts or activities-and/or involving our staff, consultants and contractors, please submit a report to CEIU by completing the Fraud and Corruption Reporting Form.
If you encounter any issue submitting a complaint using the Fraud and Corruption Reporting Form, please send email to complaints@aiib.org.
In your report, please include the following information:
- Name of the AIIB project and country where the project is located, if known.
- Contract name or reference number, if known.
- Describe what happened using as much detail as possible (Who is involved? Where and when did this happen? How do you know about this?).
- Supporting documents such as email messages, relevant documents, copies of bids or contract, photos, recordings and other information.
- At least an email address so CEIU can contact you for additional information, if needed.
All reports must be believed to be truthful, accurate and given in good faith.
You can submit your report in English or in your local language.
Yes. CEIU may accept and review anonymous complaints. However, complainants are encouraged to identify themselves and provide at least an email address to facilitate any follow-up action.
Yes. Whistleblowers can request to remain anonymous. AIIB shall also ensure that the whistleblower’s identity is kept confidential.
After you successfully submit a report using the Fraud and Corruption Reporting Form, you will receive: (i) an automatic acknowledgement on the website and (ii) an automatic system-generated email to the address you have provided with a reference number. CEIU Investigators may also reach out to you directly using the email address that you provided to request additional information.
All reports of suspected fraud and corruption in AIIB-funded projects and activities are reviewed by CEIU. CEIU is an independent unit within AIIB that has a direct reporting line to AIIB’s Board of Directors (BOD). CEIU is staffed by professional investigators who will review all allegations of fraud and corruption following the Policy on Prohibited Practices.
CEIU’s review occurs in two phases: the Intake Phase and the Investigation Phase. Under the Intake Phase, CEIU Investigators will perform a preliminary assessment of the information you provided. In this stage, CEIU Investigators will assess whether:
- Your report is a suspected Prohibited Practice defined under the PPP.
- There is sufficient merit to proceed with an investigation based on a set of investigative and operational criteria.
- An investigation by CEIU is the most appropriate course of action.
Based on the preliminary assessment, CEIU may decide to either: (i) close the case, (ii) pursue an official investigation under the Investigation Phase or (iii) take other appropriate actions such as referring the report to an operational department within AIIB or other organizations/national authorities, as appropriate. Before referring to another unit outside CEIU, you will be contacted again by CEIU investigators to provide consent.
Under the Investigation phase, CEIU undertakes a full review of the case including conducting document reviews, interviews with additional witnesses and subjects, forensic reviews and other investigative actions. As a complainant, you may be contacted again by CEIU investigators to provide additional information or seek clarification.
The entire investigations process is confidential and follows the Policy on Prohibited Practices and related documents, and international best practices for investigations. AIIB is not obligated to provide information on an ongoing investigation.
If CEIU Investigators find that fraud and corruption have occurred, the Investigator shall submit the findings to AIIB’s Sanctions Officer, who will review the case and make an independent determination on the appropriate sanctions against the subjects, as applicable, following the Policy on Prohibited Practices.
In determining the appropriate sanctions, the Sanctions Officer may also refer to the General Principles and Guidelines for Sanctions and the MDB Harmonized Principles on Treatment of Corporate Groups adopted by major multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions (AMEDD).
AIIB may also refer its findings to relevant national authorities.
Sanctions may include: (i) reprimand, (ii) debarment, (iii) conditional non-debarment, (iv) debarment with conditional release and (v) other sanctions such as restitution of funds and the imposition of fines.
Yes. The decision of the Sanctions Officer may be appealed to the Sanctions Panel.
No. All decisions of the Sanctions Panel are final.
AIIB’s Debarment List can be found on www.aiib.org/debarment. This list is comprised of: (i) AIIB sanctions as a result of AIIB’s own investigation and (ii) debarments by major multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions (AMEDD).
All the firms and individuals in AIIB’s Debarment List are ineligible to participate in or be awarded a contract in AIIB projects and activities until the expiration of their respective debarment periods.