Washington, USA, 11 September 2026 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/ – The World Bank Group today announced the 29-month debarment, with conditional release, of African Consulting Surveyors (ACS) and its Managing Director, Mr. Willem Jan Timmerman, for fraudulent and collusive practices as part of the Mozambique Land Administration Project (Terra Segura).
The project aimed to strengthen land tenure security in selected districts, improve the efficiency of land administration services, and provide an immediate and effective response to an emergency caused by an armed insurgency in Northern Mozambique.
According to the facts of the case, ACS won two contracts under the project as part of a joint venture. When bidding for these contracts, ACS, in a document signed by Mr. Timmerman, falsely certified that ACS had not paid, and would not pay, any commissions, gratuities, or fees in relation to contract procurement and execution. In fact, ACS paid undisclosed business development consultants in connection with the contracts. ACS also obtained advance access to confidential procurement information, including draft bidding documents, from third-party facilitators, which it used to influence the drafting of the contracts’ technical specifications and obtain an improper competitive advantage. These acts were fraudulent and collusive practices under the World Bank’s sanctions framework.
The debarments make ACS and Mr. Timmerman ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by Bank Group institutions. They are part of a settlement agreement under which ACS and Mr. Timmerman admit culpability for the underlying sanctionable practices.
Per the Bank Group Sanctioning Guidelines, the settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of debarment in light of ACS’s and Mr. Timmerman’s cooperation, voluntary restraint from participating in World Bank Group financed projects during settlement negotiations, and voluntary corrective actions. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, ACS and Mr. Timmerman commit to developing and implementing integrity compliance measures, and completing corporate ethics training, that reflect the relevant principles set out in the Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. ACS and Mr. Timmerman also commit to continue to fully cooperate with the Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarments of ACS and Mr. Timmerman qualify for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions that was signed on April 9, 2010.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Word Bank Group.
For more information, please visit: www.worldbank.org/integrity
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