The Board of Executive Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced on May 16, 2024, that they will commission an external firm to examine the circumstances surrounding the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman’s (CAO) investigation into IFC’s investment in Bridge International Academies. The CAO is IFC’s independent accountability mechanism and reports directly to the IFC Board.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga initiated this probe following a CAO investigation that revealed IFC had received reports of child sexual abuse while invested in Bridge International Academies. Among other protocol shortcomings, it was found that these allegations were not addressed as promptly or assertively as they could have been.
The objective of this independent review is to verify that the CAO was fully able to carry out its compliance investigation mandate. This involves determining whether the CAO had unrestricted access to all relevant documents and information necessary for conducting the Bridge investigation, along with access to all pertinent staff involved in, or with knowledge of, the Bridge investment.
Furthermore, the review aims to confirm that IFC staff and management fully cooperated with CAO as required under IFC policies. This includes ensuring that IFC provided complete access to documents and staff as requested by CAO; verifying that there was no interference from IFC in the CAO investigation; certifying that IFC took all actions required under applicable CAO policies; and ensuring there were no actions taken to limit the effectiveness of the Bridge investigation.
For further information, please contact David Theis at (202) 203-0601 or dtheis@worldbank.org.