MDB Harmonised Framework for Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption

The MDB Harmonised Framework for Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption is the shared agreement through which the five major multilateral development banks, the World Bank, ADB, AfDB, EBRD, and IDB, align their definitions of sanctionable practices, investigation standards, sanction procedures, and cross-debarment enforcement so that a finding by one bank is automatically recognised and enforced by all five.

What is the MDB Harmonised Framework?

The Framework was established through a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements between the five signatory banks, formalised most significantly in 2010 when the cross-debarment agreement came into force. Before harmonisation, each bank operated its own definitions and procedures, allowing sanctioned companies to shift to other banks' projects. Harmonisation closed that gap by creating common definitions for the five sanctionable-practices: fraud-mdb-definition, corruption-mdb-definition, collusion-mdb-definition, coercion, and obstruction.

Under the Framework, when one of the five banks issues a debarment for a sanctionable practice, the other four are obligated to enforce that debarment across their own portfolios. The only exceptions are narrow procedural carve-outs where a bank's own legal system requires independent action. The Framework also harmonises investigation principles, so that evidence gathered by one bank's integrity unit can be shared with others, and standard of proof requirements are broadly consistent.

Why the MDB Harmonised Framework matters for bidders

The practical consequence for suppliers is that the MDB integrity system functions as a single global regime rather than five independent ones. A company cannot be debarred by the World Bank and continue operating freely on ADB-financed projects. This makes the stakes of any MDB integrity investigation much higher than a national-level proceeding of similar scope. Suppliers active across multiple MDB markets need to treat compliance with all five banks' standards as a single integrated obligation. The voluntary-disclosure-program at the World Bank, and equivalent mechanisms at other banks, exists partly because the Framework's cross-bank reach creates strong incentives for self-correction before an investigation is opened.

FAQ

Which five banks are signatories to the cross-debarment agreement?

The World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Other MDBs observe the Framework and may apply similar principles, but only these five are bound by the automatic cross-debarment obligation.

Are UN agencies part of the harmonised framework?

No. UN agencies maintain their own ineligibility list and procedures separately from the MDB cross-debarment system. A debarment by the World Bank does not automatically flow through to UN vendor exclusion, though UN agencies may choose to take MDB sanctions into account during their own due diligence.

Can a company negotiate different terms with each MDB after a finding?

No. Once a debarment is issued by the finding bank, the other four are obligated to enforce it on the same terms. Negotiation on the original sanction happens only with the finding bank, but its outcome binds all five.