Around the World
AfDB debars firm for 21 months over fraud, corrupt practices
The company was engaged in sanctionable practices in a power generation project financed by the Bank in Mauritius.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the debarment of Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) for 21 months for fraudulent and corrupt practices.
The financial institution disclosed via a statement it issued and seen by Nairametrics on Monday.
BWSC is a global turnkey developer, contractor and operator of custom specific engine-based and boiler-based power plants across Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Europe among others. Its ambition is to provide highly efficient and reliable energy supply while ensuring low environmental impact and low cost for the power plant owner and consumers.
READ MORE: NNPC diversifies into housing, power; plans to beat crude production cost to $10 per barrel
According to the bank, the company was engaged in sanctionable practices in a power generation project financed by the Bank in Mauritius.
In 2014 and 2015, it stated that Burmeister & Wain participated in tenders for the redevelopment of the Saint Louis power plant in Mauritius, a project financed by the Bank.
It stated, “Evidence supports a finding that Burmeister & Wain, on a balance of probabilities, financially rewarded members of the Mauritian administration and others, through the intermediary of third parties.
“This was allegedly done for providing access to confidential tender-related information which allowed them to tailor the technical specifications of the tenders to its offering, thus gaining an undue competitive advantage over other tenderers. Burmeister & Wain further concealed the arrangements it had entered into with the third parties, in breach of the rules governing the tenders.”
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What it means: The debarment imposed by the Bank renders Burmeister & Wain ineligible to participate in Bank-financed projects and thus to benefit from its financing during the debarment period.
The 21 months debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks pursuant to the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions.
According to this agreement, debarments longer than 12 months pronounced by any of its signatories, including the African Development Bank (AfDB) , the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group, are recognized and imposed in the same way by its other signatories.
READ ALSO: AfDB to support Nigeria’s agro-processing zones with $300 million
Meanwhile, the Bank is expected release Burmeister & Wain from debarment at the expiry of the debarment period, subject to a successful review and clearance of the company’s enhanced integrity compliance program by the Bank.
Around the World
Trump to return to social media with his own platform in 2 months
Over 2 months after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook, others, Donald Trump is working on making a return.
Former US President, Donald Trump, will be back on social media in the near future, over 2 months after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook, and others.
This follows plans by the former President to launch his own social media platform within the next 2 or 3 months.
This disclosure was made by Trump’s Senior Adviser, Jason Miller, on Sunday, March 22, 2021, during a chat with Fox News’ #MediaBuzz.
READ: President Biden revokes Trump’s ban for green card applicants in US
What Donald Trump’s Senior Adviser is saying
Jason Miller, who was a spokesman for Trump’s 2020 campaign, told the media network that the former President would soon get back to social media space with a new platform of his own that would completely redefine the game.
Miller, while talking to Fox News, said, “I do think that we’re going to see President Trump returning to social media in probably about two or three months here, with his own platform. And this is something that I think will be the hottest ticket in social media; it’s going to completely redefine the game, and everybody is going to be waiting and watching to see what exactly President Trump does.”
Although he did not provide more in terms of details, Miller revealed that Trump had been having high-powered meetings at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, with various teams regarding the venture, and that numerous companies had approached Trump.
Miller said the new platform was going to be big, while also predicting that Trump would draw tens of millions of people.
In case you missed it
- It can be recalled that former President Trump was banned from Twitter after the January 6, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. He was accused of inciting his supporters after he rejected the US Presidential election result which he claimed was a fraud.
- Twitter last week said it would seek public input on when and how it should ban world leaders, saying it was reviewing its policy and considering whether leaders should be held to the same rules as other users.
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Tesla investor sues Elon Musk for causing problems with his tweets
An investor in the US electric car maker, Tesla, has sued the company’s founder, Elon Musk over alleged erratic tweets.
Elon Musk, the controversial multi-billionaire is being sued by an investor in his company. Musk is being accused by the investor of unsettling the markets and exposing his investors to high risk with his “erratic tweets”.
Chase Garrity an investor in the US electric car maker, Tesla, has sued the founder of the company for his erratic Twitter messaging which according to him, has exposed the company to high legal risks and billions in price losses.
The 105-page lawsuit was published in the US court of Delaware and it accuses Musk of violating the settlement negotiated with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018.
READ: Battle of Titans: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos share world’s richest title
The lawsuit also includes the entire Tesla board and its supervisory body for not calling Musk to order.
In May 2020 Musk caused a 14 billion dollar loss in market value on a single trading day with a series of unguarded tweets. He tweeted about Tesla’s market value being too high and how he was going to dispose of all physical assets.
The lawsuit stated that any further unbridled tweet from Musk would have dire consequences for Tesla’s future funding opportunities.
READ: Elon Musk gains $25 billion in a day, as Tesla surges by 20%
What you should know
- Remember Nairametrics posted a story on how Musk tweets once again caused a serious ripple effect in the crypto world. His tweet helped Bitcoin gain $6000. He later invested heavily in Bitcoin.
- Manager Magazine stated that analysts are not comfortable with such a move and view it as some kind of manipulation.
- Musk in April last year posted a joke photo of Tesla going bankrupt. This once again unsettled investors.
- Tesla Management has not released a statement on this fresh lawsuit.
