Pressure mounts on IFC to release report on Bridge sexual abuse case

Civil society groups are ramping up pressure on the International Finance Corporation — the World Bank’s private sector arm — to release the findings of an independent investigation into the institution’s handling of sexual abuse allegations at a Kenyan school chain it helped finance between 2013 and 2016.

International law firm Freshfields was commissioned in 2024 by World Bank President Ajay Banga to examine whether IFC interfered with an investigation by its own watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, or CAO, into allegations that more than 20 students were abused at a for-profit school chain, Bridge International Academies, where IFC held a minority stake.

International law firm Freshfields was commissioned in 2024 by World Bank President Ajay Banga to examine whether IFC interfered with an investigation by its own watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, or CAO, into allegations that more than 20 students were abused at a for-profit school chain, Bridge International Academies, where IFC held a minority stake.

IFC told Devex that the procedures reflect Freshfields’ advice and existing policy. The institution emphasized that key findings were published in the March summary and that several recommendations have already been implemented.

But Accountability Counsel, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that represented the former Bridge students, has repeatedly requested access to the full report through IFC’s access to information, or A2I, mechanism, arguing that disclosure is essential to rebuild public trust.

Read the full article from Devex here.