World Bank’s Banga denies IFC cover up of abuse

World Bank President Ajay Banga on Monday rejected allegations that the bank’s International Finance Corp arm sought to cover up reports of sexual abuse at a for-profit school chain in Kenya in which it held a stake from 2013 to 2022.
Banga, asked during a Center for Global Development public event about the IFC’s response to an independent investigation into the allegations at Bridge International Academies, said he disagreed with the characterization of a cover-up by the IFC.
Civil society groups have expressed concern that IFC ignored evidence of child sexual abuse at the some of Bridge’s Kenya schools until the World Bank’s Office of Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) received complaints from parents in 2018 and opened an investigation.
The IFC’s Board of Executive Directors this month is expected to formally discuss an action plan following the CAO’s findings related to the $13.5 million Bridge equity investment, which was divested in March 2022 as part of a plan to exit for-profit education.
The divestment came nearly a year before Banga was nominated for the World Bank’s top job, but he will have to deal with its aftermath as he seeks to improve the lender’s operations.