Bangladesh Auditors Flagged Tk170.7 Million Silo Consultancy Award Over Partner's Blacklisting

A Bangladesh government audit dated 28 December 2022 questioned a Tk170,671,481 consultancy contract for supervising construction of steel grain silos, saying that a member of the winning joint venture had already been debarred or blacklisted when the contract was awarded. The finding concerns package MFSP/SD-32 under the World Bank-financed Modern Food Storage Facilities Project (P120583). It is a documented audit finding, not a court judgment or proof that the contract price was stolen.

The Foreign-Aided Projects Audit Directorate's 2021–22 audit identifies the consultant as National Office for Engineering and Re-construction (NOFEAR), Ukraine, as lead partner, with Modern Engineers Planners & Consultants Ltd. (MEPC) as joint-venture partner. The audit says the project authority signed the contract on 3 November 2021, recording US$464,116.48 plus Tk131,313,001.36 and a converted total of Tk170,671,481. The audit described the award as a violation of Bangladesh's Public Procurement Rules 2008, rule 48(2)(e), because it said MEPC had been blacklisted or debarred.

The auditors recommended action to recover the amount from the liable party. That recommendation is not proof that the whole contract sum was improperly paid or recovered. The audit records no response from the responsible project authority to this observation at the time the report was prepared. A later reply, adjudication or resolution has not yet been independently obtained.

The identity of the package is supported beyond the audit: the World Bank-hosted procurement plan revised 1 November 2021 lists MFSP/SD-32, a supervision consultancy for silo construction, as under implementation, while MEPC's own public project portfolio identifies MFSP/SD-32 and the Directorate General of Food as client. The plan's zero-dollar 'Actual Amount' field is a procurement-system value and cannot be equated with zero expenditure. The company's undated website does not confirm the contract signing date or the historical blacklisting.

On 28 October 2026, the World Bank separately announced a 19-month conditional debarment of MEPC after the company admitted submitting false financial documents during procurement and false internet-expense invoices during implementation of a contract under the same food-storage project. The Bank's announcement does not identify the contract number. **There is no verified evidence yet that the 2026 settlement concerned SD-32, nor that the earlier blacklisting noted by the 2022 auditors was the same sanction.** The 2026 settlement cannot be retroactively used to prove the firm was ineligible in 2021.

The audit also says the project's financial statements presented a fair view and describes overall delivery as satisfactory, while identifying exceptions to compliance. These statements must be read alongside, not omitted from, the specific procurement finding.

Questions remain over the original blacklist order, its dates and scope, the procurement authority's explanation, the actual payments and any later audit settlement. Before an accusation about responsibility is published, the Directorate General of Food, the auditors, MEPC, NOFEAR and the World Bank should have an opportunity to respond.