THE World Bank Group has imposed a 21-month debarment on three PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) network firms – PricewaterhouseCoopers Associates Africa Ltd. (PwC Associates), PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited Kenya (PwC Kenya), and PricewaterhouseCoopers Rwanda Limited (PwC Rwanda) – following their admission of collusive and fraudulent conduct connected to a landmark regional electricity project in East Africa.
The sanction, announced in Washington on 18 March 2026, bars the three firms and any affiliates they control from participating in projects and operations financed by the World Bank Group. The debarment is issued with a conditional release provision, meaning the ban can be lifted before the 21-month period expires if the firms fulfil a set of integrity compliance conditions.
“The debarment of PwC Associates, PwC Kenya, and PwC Rwanda qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks — raising the reputational and commercial stakes well beyond the World Bank’s own portfolio.”
What Happened
According to the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency, the misconduct centres on the Eastern Electricity Highway Project — the first phase of the Eastern Africa Power Integration Program — a flagship infrastructure initiative designed to increase electricity supply in Kenya by importing power from Ethiopia, while generating export revenues for Addis Ababa.
The Bank found that PwC Associates, PwC Kenya, and PwC Rwanda obtained confidential procurement information from project officials in order to improperly influence the award of a consultancy services contract in 2019. The contract in question related to the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation.
The firms also sought to influence the award of a separate contract — the Fixed Asset Inventory and Revaluation contract for Ethiopian Electric Utility (the EEU FAIR Contract) — in favour of PwC Associates. During the selection and execution of that contract, PwC Associates was further found to have misrepresented the qualifications, availability, and employment status of key expert personnel, and to have failed to fully disclose its subconsultants. The conduct was determined to constitute collusive and fraudulent practices under the Bank Group Consultant Guidelines.
Settlement Terms
The 21-month debarment period reflects a negotiated settlement under which all three firms have admitted culpability. The Bank said the reduced duration — compared to what might otherwise be imposed — takes into account the firms’ admission of wrongdoing, cooperation with investigators, voluntary remedial actions, and the strengthening of their existing integrity compliance frameworks.
Voluntary remedial actions taken by the firms included conducting internal investigations, taking disciplinary action against responsible individuals, ceasing business with all involved subconsultants, rolling out staff training, and voluntarily refraining from bidding on Bank-financed contracts during the period of settlement negotiations.
As a condition for early release from debarment, PwC Associates, PwC Kenya, and PwC Rwanda must develop and implement integrity compliance programmes that meet the principles set out in the Bank Group’s Integrity Compliance Guidelines. The firms have also committed to continuing full cooperation with the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Africa Limited — the entity that provides coordination and oversight to PwC network firms across the continent — signed the settlement agreement as a non-sanctioned party, in recognition of its oversight responsibility for member firms’ compliance obligations, including those of the three debarred entities.
Wider Implications for the Continent
The debarment carries significant weight beyond the World Bank’s own financing portfolio. Under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions — a multilateral accord signed in April 2010 — the sanction qualifies for cross-debarment by other signatory multilateral development banks, including the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank. This means the affected PwC entities could find themselves locked out of a substantial share of the continent’s development finance-backed work.
The case is also notable for its context: the Eastern Africa Power Integration Program is a transformative infrastructure initiative aimed at reducing energy poverty across the region. Corruption and manipulation of procurement processes in projects of this nature directly undermines the energy transition ambitions of both Ethiopia and Kenya — countries that have positioned themselves as regional powerhouses in renewable energy generation and transmission.
For the global audit and professional services sector, the case adds to growing scrutiny of the integrity of procurement processes on major development finance projects across Africa — and raises pointed questions about governance structures within large multinational professional networks operating across the continent.
