International publishing business Macmillan Publishers Ltd, UK, has agreed a civil recovery order of £11.2 million, regarding historic conduct by its education business in Africa.
The move comes after the company, in March 2010, referred to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) concerns over payments made by part of its education business, Macmillan Education, in an unsuccessful bid to secure a contract in Southern Sudan.
Macmillan last year signed a settlement agreement with the World Bank over allegations relating to that Southern Sudanese contract. The company further co-operated with the World Bank and the SFO by instructing external lawyers to conduct an independent investigation into publicly tendered contracts won by Macmillan in Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia between 2002 and 2009.
That report established that there were concerns over receipts from certain contracts. This has resulted in the company and the SFO agreeing a civil recovery order, which brings to a conclusion a co-operative period of investigation into issues identified by both parties.
To access our daily STM news feed through your iPhone, iPad, or other smartphones, please visit www.myscoope.com for a mobile friendly reading experience.
