The three French companies are accused of fraudulent practices during public procurement contracts negotiated in Madagascar, and in Croatia for ADP.
A tricolor trio singled out by the World Bank. The international institution sanctioned entities of the French groups ADP and Bouygues, as well as the Madagascan subsidiary of Colas, for irregular practices during market negotiations.
The allegations date back to 2015, when a consortium formed by entities from ADP, manager of the Paris airports, of the Bouygues construction group and of the latter’s subsidiary, Colas, negotiated a contract for the renovation and extension of airports. Malagasy from Antananarivo-Ivato and Nosy Be-Fascene.
Hoping for an over-the-counter market, the three French heavyweights negotiated with the local authorities in 2014, before the latter decided on a call for tenders in 2015. During the concession call, the World Bank reported ” inappropriate meetings with “Malagasy” government officials.
Companies plead guilty
The three groups have acknowledged the facts but believe that the rules have changed in the course of the game. The consortium’s lawyer, Antonin Lévy, confirmed the agreements and qualified the alleged meetings as “technical meetings with the principal, relating to aspects of the project “, or” a breach of the ethical rules of the World Bank, because when we are in a call for tenders we must not speak with the client “.
Me Lévy also assures AFP that “the investigation has not demonstrated any impact on the market” and the result of the call for tenders. After audit, the subsidiaries in question – ADP International, Bouygues Bâtiment International and Colas Madagascar – acknowledged the facts and accepted the sanctions, according to the same source.
ADP more heavily sanctioned
One year without participating in any call for tenders, and one year of testing: this is the sanction imposed by the World Bank on ADP (Aéroports de Paris). Bouygues Bâtiment International, for its part, accepted a one-year probation, while Colas Madagascar was excluded for two years from contracts financed by the institution.
The company managing the Paris airports has been more heavily pinned down by the World Bank: and for good reason, it is involved in a second case, in Croatia. In Zagreb, she is accused of having employed an intermediary without declaring it to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which strictly regulates these practices. This, between June 2011 and March 2014, when she was trying to obtain the concession of the Zagreb airport.