About the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism

What we do

IPAM is the independent accountability mechanism of the EBRD.  IPAM reviews environmental, social and transparency-related issues raised by Project-affected people and civil society organisations about EBRD financed projects, which are believed to have caused harm. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that the Projects financed by the EBRD are implemented in line with the Bank's commitments to environmental and social sustainability.

The purpose of the mechanism is to:

• Facilitate the resolution of disputes between Project-affected People, the Bank, and EBRD Clients

• Determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy and Access to Information Policy

• Share institutional learnings with Bank staff, where common challenges are identified, promoting continuous learning at EBRD

• Engage with stakeholders across countries of operation, to ensure IPAM’s purpose, functions and activities are known and understood by all stakeholders.

IPAM’s work is guided by principles of independence and impartiality; transparency; predictability; equitability and accessibility.

Our governance and structure

IPAM operates independently of Bank management, reporting directly and only to the EBRD Board of Directors.  

IPAM Staff

Victoria Marquez-Mees, a Mexican national, is the EBRD's first Chief Accountability Officer (CAO).  She is Managing Director of IPAM responsible for the setting up and operation of the office.  Prior to joining the EBRD, Ms. Márquez-Mees led the Inter-American Development Bank’s independent accountability mechanism for over 10 years and chaired the Independent Accountability Mechanisms Network of international financial institutions from 2017-19.  With more than 30 years professional experience in international development, she has held a range of positions in public and private institutions, focused on strategic planning, policy design and the implementation of social and philanthropic projects. She is a member of the boards of the World Benchmarking Alliance and the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) and Visiting Professor in Practice at the LSE Latin American Centre.  She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Niall Watson, a New Zealand and British national, leads the Compliance Review function and acts as deputy to the CAO.  He brings over 35 years’ experience as an environmental lawyer including the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment, a private law firm in London and as General Counsel and Programmes Legal Adviser at WWF-UK and Oxfam GB.   He is a founding member of the UKELA Wild Law Working Group and co-founded two NGOs, the Corporate Responsibility (CORE) Coalition, and Legal Response International (LRI) providing legal advice to lesser-developed country participants in climate negotiations. Since 2021, Mr. Watson has been a technical consultant within the Compliance function of IPAM.   His expertise is focused on international and EU environmental law related to mining, oil exploration, climate change, deforestation, freshwater and marine protection, wildlife conservation, and corporate environmental and social governance and accountability.

Sushma Kotagiri, an Indian national, leads the Effectiveness, Outreach and Advisory function and acts as liaison to the Independent Accountability Mechanisms Network (IAMNet).  Ms Kotagiri is a social specialist with extensive operational project experience across 20 countries.  Prior to IPAM, she was a Principal Facilitation Specialist at the ADB's Office of the Special Project Facilitator, where she applied her social development and safeguards background to the dispute resolution processes managed under the accountability mechanism.  Also at ADB, she has led social risk management, stakeholder engagement and quality assurance components of IFI investments in the infrastructure sector.  Sushma worked with Oxfam GB and the private sector, mainstreaming social and gender dimensions into projects within the natural resources sector.  She is fluent in English, Hindi, Telugu and has a basic knowledge of French.

Olga Vasiliev, a Moldavian and Romanian national, leads on the Problem Solving function of IPAM. Before that, she worked for five years with the Project Complaint Mechanism. Olga is a lawyer by training and accredited mediator with 16 years of working experience in the development sector. Prior to the EBRD, she worked with the UNDP, Council of Europe, IREX and French Red Cross. Ms. Vasiliev brings, to the Problem Solving function, a vast experience in the design, implementation and monitoring of complex development and humanitarian projects, as well as first hand practice in dispute resolution processes in a range of EBRD’s countries of operation.  She is fluent in English, French, Russian, Romanian and has an intermediate level of Ukrainian.

Kinga Jaromin, a Polish national, holds the position of Associate within IPAM's Compliance Review team.  Prior to joining EBRD, Ms. Jaromin worked as an Associate at Morgan Stanley conducting due diligence reviews on ESG, criminal and reputational issues across Bank’s diverse clients. She also worked with the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna in the Consultation and Cooperation Unit and human rights focused civil society sector. She is fluent in English, Polish and has a working knowledge of Russian and Ukrainian.

Giorgio Napoli, an Italian national, holds the position of Analyst at IPAM. He is responsible for the request intake stage, managing our case database and providing support to the outreach programme. Mr. Napoli brings relevant experience across communication, finance and data analysis. Prior to EBRD, he worked as a communication strategist, supervision data analyst and personal financial advisor at the Fineco Bank, Domino Web Agency and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). He is fluent in English and Italian and has a working knowledge of French and Spanish.

Gina Llewelyn, a British national, is the Executive Assistant to the CAO.  She also supports the IPAM team in diverse administrative, budgetary, logistical and procurement tasks.  Mrs Llewelyn brings over 25 years of experience in events and administration from both public and private sector companies.  She has worked at EBRD at various times in different departments over the last 20 years.  In between working at EBRD, she has worked for The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Hill & Knowlton Strategies.  She is fluent in English and has a basic knowledge of French and Italian.

Paolo Fioretti, an Italian national, is an English and Italian law-qualified lawyer with 22 years of experience. He joins IPAM on a six-month secondment from the Office of the General Counsel of EBRD.  Before joining EBRD, Paolo worked in private practice at firms such as Allen & Overy LLP and Linklaters LLP in Milan and London specialising in banking and finance. In 2018 and 2019, Paolo was closely involved in the EBRD accountability policy review that led to the creation of IPAM. During his secondment, among other things, he will be supporting our compliance team and assisting the Chief Accountability Officer in the drafting of guidelines such as the ones on retaliation. He is fluent in Italian, English and Spanish and has a basic knowledge of Turkish.

 

 

 

Our partners - the Independent Accountability Mechanisms’ Network

All IFIs have externally focused, citizen-driven accountability mechanisms, referred to as Independent Accountability Mechanism (IAMs). Although their scope and mandates vary, they all receive submissions of concern from external stakeholders about the environmental and social performance of their institutions’ projects.

The IAMs Network brings together international practitioners in accountability, compliance, mediation and corporate governance. It provides a platform for cooperation and the exchange of expertise for accountability mechanisms worldwide.

IPAM is part of the IAMs Network. Participation in the Network allows for the exchange of best practices, the strengthening of relationships with civil society organisations and peer institutions, and collaboration on co-financed projects where corncerns are raised.