Dutch company Simed International, which builds hospitals all over the world, was placed on a World Bank blacklist in March because of corruption, the Financieele Dagblad says on Friday.

Sources told the paper the company, which has since gone bankrupt, had tried on multiple occasions to bribe World Bank staff.

Blacklisting has serious consequences and is usually followed by other development banks around the globe. Simed was primarily involved in projects in developing countries and had annual turnover of some €120m, the paper says.

The bribery related to several projects in eastern Europe. In Bulgaria, Simed tried to bribe a World Bank consultant to pass on confidential information about a tender process. In Romania, a World Bank worker was offered ‘commission’ for helping Simed win a contract

Although the sums involved were relatively small, this was enough to blacklist the company, the FD says.

Simed went into receivership in mid-April and was declared bankrupt a week later. Among the creditors is ABN Amro, which has a claim of €123m.