Accountability

News

Complaint against the IFC in Mozambique

7 February 2012

The Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO), the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) accountability mechanism, has transferred a complaint over an IFC-supported aluminium smelter in Mozambique to its compliance function, which will assess whether the project has breached the IFC’s performance standards. Mozal, which operates the smelter, received $135 million in equity and loans from the IFC between 1997 and 2001. A coalition of NGOs claimed that Mozal’s activities “will result in harmful exposure to people and the environment”, and also questioned “the environmental and social due diligence undertaken” and “the lack of access to and disclosure of information.”