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Statement | IFC Board Rejects Its Ombudsman's Findings of Harms, Non-Compliance in MFI Sector

26 June 2026

The World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) has rejected the findings of its independent ombudsman in the case of harms related to IFC investments in Cambodia's microfinance sector. The unprecedented decision to ignore the detailed findings of harms and non-compliance undermines accountability for Cambodian microfinance borrowers and for people affected by IFC projects across the world.

The director general of the CAO resigned shortly after the decision was announced.

This decision reveals a morally bankrupt approach to investing and a shocking disregard for the role of an independent accountability mechanism," said Naly Pilorge, outreach director at LICADHO. "For more than four years, complainants have gone through this process in good faith with the understanding that findings of non-compliance would be addressed. Now, at the last minute, the IFC and World Bank have decided to ignore their sustainability policies when they are inconvenient, and instead brush under the rug a litany of forced land sales, violations of local laws and irreparable harms to Indigenous Peoples.

Resources

Prisoners of Interest

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Court Watch

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Safety & Justice

Safety & Justice is a resource and information hub about domestic and sexual violence in Cambodia.

Right to Relief

An interactive research project focusing on over-indebted land communities struggling with microfinance debt.

Cambodia's Concessions

Use an interactive map to explore Cambodia’s land concessions.

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