As outlined in the presentation on Integrity in IDB Group Operations from the Water Integrity Forum 2013, the Inter-American Development Bank has an integrity framework grounded in three pillars:
- Financing projects that are corruption-free
- Supporting projects promoting good governance and integrity
- Promoting integrity internally
Ensuring the realization of the first pillar requires a dedicated process to manage risk (for example by participating in cross-debarment initiatives), and identify, investigate and section cases of corruption. The stakes are high as the potential lost value due to corruption over the life of the approved portfolio of projects financed by the bank could be of USD 200 million.
Investigations by the bank between 2004 and 2012 made it possible to identify nearly 30 cases of fraud or collusion in water and sanitation projects in Latin America and Carribean.