Atlanta Company Sues World Bank

The World Bank's failure to supervise and monitor overseas projects leads to corruption and unfair practices in bid approval. Georgia company lost 90% of contracts for which it was the lowest bidder.

(PRWEB) January 6, 2005 -- Civil Action: Ashford International, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. The World Bank Group, Inter-American Development Bank, and John Does 1 through 5.

On December 30, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, a complaint for damages was filed against the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) by Ashford International, Inc., a Georgia corporation authorized to conduct business in the state of Georgia, in the United States and throughout the world.

In the complaint, for which a trial by jury has been demanded, Ashford alleges that it was unfairly, unlawfully and systematically disqualified in the awarding of contracts for which it had been the lowest bidder. The disqualification, Ashford asserts, results from the World Bank and the IDB failing to monitor and supervise their overseas projects and thus allowing the overseas project managers to violate the World Banks and the IDBs own procurement rules and regulations.

The unfair and unlawful discrimination occurred in projects in Uganda, Turkey, Jordan, the Dominican Republic and Brazil during the 1990s and into the current decade. At the same time, Ashford International was hailed by then-President Bill Clinton as an example of international partnership for bringing world-class technology to developing countries, winning the prestigious Presidents E" award for Excellence in Exporting from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1997.

By 2002, Ashford International had been disqualified for 50 out of 55 bids for which it was the lowest bidder. The failure of World Bank and IDB to maintain control over and properly supervise the awarding of contracts has caused Ashford to suffer financial damages, which it seeks to recover through the complaint filed on December 30, 2004.

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