The World Bank said Wednesday it had blacklisted 45 more companies and individuals last year afor corruption activities.

For the year, the World Bank initiated 117 investigations last year which resulted in 45 debarments of firms and individuals “for engaging in wrongdoing.”

Under a cross-debarment pact signed last year, firms debarred by the World Bank are also automatically denied contracting opportunities at other multilateral development banks.

The bank pushed ahead with counter-corruption measures after strong criticism in the 1990s for tolerating huge losses to graft and other malfeasance in its contracting and lending.  Since the debarment policy began in July 2008, a total of 90 individuals and businesses have been blacklisted by the bank.

In 2009, the World Bank reached a settlement  with Siemens over corruption in a bank project in Russia. Siemens agreed to pay $100 million over 15 years to support anti-corruption efforts.  Siemens was also shut out of World Bank business for two years.