It was the wrongdoings of India’s Satyam Computer Services Ltd. that have paved the way for interest groups in the Philippines to probe local construction firms’ alleged bid-rigging activities.

In September 2008, World Bank silently sanctioned Satyam from providing IT services to the bank for eight years allegedly for malpractices, including bribery. It was only in late December, however, when World Bank publicly revealed Satyam’s debarment.

The publicly listed India firm immediately asked World Bank to withdraw its statements, apparently to prevent the company’s stock price from making a free fall. At the time, Satyam was already under close scrutiny after it entered into questionable deals involving two companies also owned by Satyam’s top executives.

In January, however, the World Bank stood pat on its findings. It also gave more details about Satyam’s ‘sins’. It said the debarment was meted out for "improper benefits to bank staff" and "lack of documentation on invoices.”

It was downhill for India’s fourth largest outsourcing firm ever since. Its founder was jailed after admitting that he was involved in a $1 billion corporate fraud scandal, which hit Indian stocks, the rupee currency, and corporate India.

By January 12, the multilateral lender, banking on the Satyam experience to bolster its anti-corruption efforts, named two other Indian firms that it had blacklisted.

The bank has long been under pressure to step up its fight again fraud and corruption within the institution and in projects it finances in developing countries.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick  said in a statement that they planned to publish in the future the names of all companies it bans from doing work with the poverty-fighting institution.

Three days after, on January 15, the World Bank dropped a bomb: It had uncovered an alleged major cartel involving local and international firms bidding on a Philippines roads project. It said it had barred seven companies -- three from the Philippines and four from China -- from bidding on its projects due to alleged corruption.

A week after, the lower house started its investigation on the World Bank road scam.

Seven days after that, Senator Panfilo Lacson, in a senate hearing also on the road scam said First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is involved in the scam since he had business dealings with the owner of one of the blacklisted contracting firms at the time it was bidding for the World Bank-funded project.

The rest, they say, is history. -- by Lala Rimando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak