Temat: 4 Lessons From the African Development Bank's...

Earlier this year, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina was accused of “multiple abuses and breaches of the Bank’s code of ethics.” As reported by a French newspaper, among other things, Adesina was accused of “violation of the code of conduct” and “hindrance to efficiency (…) affecting confidence in the integrity” of the bank. The employees were reported to have made use of the bank’s Whistle Blowing and Complaints Handling Policy, which permits anonymous disclosures.

On January 19, they filed a complaint and forwarded an 11-page document to AfDB's Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department, detailing 16 cases of alleged abuse. These whistleblowers cite that a friend of Adesina was appointed to a managerial position, even though the position was still held by his predecessor. This forced AfDB briefly to pay two salaries. Another individual, a childhood friend of Adesina’s, was awarded a contract of $326,000 for his Nigerian communications company, before he was recruited to AfDB a few months later. During an internal audit of the institution, the contract was reported as potentially falling under a conflict of interest.

The context and history of AfDB ...

Key takeaways from the AfDB whistleblowing case
1. INDEPENDENCE AND OBJECTIVITY ARE VITAL ...
2. FRAUD EXAMINERS MUST DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FACTS AND COINCIDENCES....
3. REGULARLY REVIEW CONFLICTS-OF-INTEREST DECLARATIONS FOR THE C-SUITE ...
4. ENSURE THERE IS A RELIABLE FEEDBACK MECHANISM IN PLACE ...

https://www.acfeinsights.com/acfe-insights/4-lessons-fr...