World Bank bans Macmillan Publishers over Sudan bribery

From Macmillan Publishers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY 6 MAY 2010
Macmillan Publishers moves to address concerns over its education business in Southern Sudan
The international publishing business, Macmillan Publishers Ltd UK (“Macmillan”), has today confirmed that it has voluntarily referred to the Serious Fraud Office its concerns over historic payments made by a subsidiary of its education business, Macmillan Education, to secure a contract in Southern Sudan.
The move comes after the company reached a civil settlement agreement with the World Bank over allegations that improper and unauthorised payments were made to public officials in Southern Sudan in an unsuccessful bid to secure a contract funded by the World Bank.
Annette Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan, said:
‘Our message today is clear: we will not tolerate any form of potentially unlawful behaviour. We are deeply shocked to have discovered these issues, and are sorry for the harm that such behaviour will have done.
‘Macmillan is a business with strong values rooted in education and development, which we hold dear. We will work tenaciously to protect it from bad conduct.
‘There is no suggestion that these concerns have affected any of Macmillan’s other principal businesses, and it is the case that they are confined to a limited part of our education business. Despite this, we take the situation very seriously and have been co-operating fully with the authorities.’
Meanwhile, the company, with expert support, has conducted a review of Macmillan Education’s practices and procedures, and has prepared and begun implementation of a revised ethical framework, including comprehensive risk assessment and training of all relevant staff. The moves are designed to prevent any recurrence of potentially unlawful behaviour. A new, board-level, Risk & Compliance Committee is also being set up.
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Notes to Editors
1. Macmillan was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan and entered a period of international expansion in the 1960s. Today, the group has over 7,000 staff with offices in more than 80 countries and is one of the largest and best known international publishing groups in the world.
2. Macmillan’s education division, Macmillan Education, is one of the world's leading publishers of English Language teaching and school curriculum materials, with over 150 years of publishing experience. Macmillan Education works with teachers, students, institutions, educational authorities and Ministries of Education to develop high quality course books and supplementary materials to suit the needs of teachers and students of all levels.
3. Media enquiries to Jon McLeod on +44 (0)7775 530978, email jmcleod@webershandwick.com.

From the ICM website
http://news.icm.ac.uk/business/world-bank-bans-macmillan-publishers/6389/
World Bank bans Macmillan publishers
10:00am GMT, Friday, 7 May 2010
International publishing company Macmillan has been banned from all World Bank contracts for the next six years.
Macmillan, one of the best-known international publishers, has been banned from all World Bank contracts for the next six years, after admitting to bribery payments relating to a Trust Fund-supported education project in southern Sudan.
The publisher has been declared “ineligible to be awarded World Bank-financed contracts” and has itself voluntarily referred its concerns to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the “improper and unauthorised payments made to public officials in southern Sudan in an unsuccessful bid to secure a contract funded by the World Bank”.
Leonard McCarthy, Integrity Vice President at the World Bank Group, said: “This agreement is an acknowledgement of past wrongdoing by Macmillan and demonstrates the World Bank’s unwavering commitment to ensuring all those who participate in World Bank-financed projects, including those who do not actually get contracts, are held to the highest levels of integrity, while also encouraging companies to come forward and join our fight against corruption.”
Macmillan was originally barred for eight years, however this was reduced to six years due to an early acknowledgement of misconduct by the company. This, in turn, could be reduced further – to three years if Macmillan implements a compliance programme and cooperates with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT).
Annette Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan, said: “Our message today is clear: we will not tolerate any form of potentially unlawful behaviour. We are deeply shocked to have discovered these issues, and are sorry for the harm that such behaviour will have done.
“Macmillan is a business with strong values rooted in education and development, which we hold dear. We will work tenaciously to protect it from bad conduct. There is no suggestion that these concerns have affected any of Macmillan’s other principal businesses, and it is the case that they are confined to a limited part of our education business. Despite this, we take the situation very seriously and have been co-operating fully with the authorities.”
Macmillan has its headquarters in Hampshire, England. Its Macmillan Education subsidiary is one of the world’s leading publishers of English Language teaching and school curriculum material, operating in 130 countries, and is based in Oxford.
By Susanna Woods