Wipro discloses World Bank ban

BANGALORE: Wipro Technologies on Monday announced that in June 2007, the World Bank had banned it from contesting for its contracts till 2011 because the company had offered shares to the Bank's employees during its US IPO in 2000.
The disclosure, which pushed Wipro stocks down by 12% in early trade, follows a similar ban on Satyam Computer that the World Bank announced a few weeks ago.
Wipro said the disclosure was in consultation with the World Bank, and follows revised disclosure policies. The company said the offer of shares to employees and clients was part of the SEC approved directed share program (DSP). The DSP has the objective of involving employees and customers with the public offering to expand Wipro's recognition and brand, the company said.
"The aggregate number of shares purchased by them was 1,750 for about $72,000 at the IPO price. All participants in the program signed a conflict of interest statement that their purchase did not violate any ethics or conflict of interest policies of their company," the Wipro statement said.