Washington, Jan 12: The World Bank said on Friday it had uncovered "serious incidents" of fraud and corruption in a review of five health projects in India and Bank President Robert Zoellick pledged he and the government would get to the bottom of it.

Evidence of problems was found in a just-released Detailed Implementation Review launched by the World Bank in 2006, with the support of the Indian government. It looked at the five World Bank-supported projects, some dating back to 1997, for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The review`s findings are likely to further highlight concerns about corruption in World Bank-financed development projects and increase pressure on Zoellick to tackle shortcomings in the bank`s oversight of projects.

"The probe has revealed unacceptable indicators of fraud and corruption," Zoellick said in a statement. "The government of India and the World Bank are committed to getting to the bottom of how these problems occurred," he added.

India`s finance ministry said it would pursue criminal charges, if necessary, against anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.

"Necessary action under the relevant laws, rules and regulations would be taken against those suspected of wrongdoing and, if found guilty, they will be visited with exemplary punishment" the ministry said.

Problems in World Bank-financed health projects in India first arose in 2005 but boiled to the surface in late 2006 when former World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz halted lending to the sector until India had taken steps to fix its procurement methods.

The move sparked tensions between the World Bank, the government and donor country Britain, which argued that freezing the flow of funds would only hurt the poorest people and that the Bank should continue to lend to countries while tackling problems of corruption.

Last year, the World Bank also barred two Indian pharmaceutical firms, Nestor Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Pure Pharma Ltd, from doing business with the institution for "collusive practices" related to a health project the bank had financed.

There was no indication that Zoellick, who took over from Wolfowitz in November, is considering freezing loans to the health care projects in India. But he has directed the bank`s anti-corruption unit, the Department of Institutional Integrity, to "pursue evidence for legal action".

He said the Bank would sanction companies and act against any bank employees who had broken rules.

The review was prompted by a World Bank probe in 2005 into a reproductive and child health project in India, which detected corrupt practices by the two pharmaceutical firms.

"I appreciate the resolute commitment of the government which will be in the lead in pursuing criminal wrongdoing," Zoellick said. "On the bank side, there were weaknesses in project design, supervision and evaluation. There are also systemic flaws. I am determined to fix these problems," he added.

Zoellick said India and the World Bank would tighten oversight of the bank`s nine health projects in India. New projects would be put through comprehensive audits and performance reviews by independent agents, he added.

The Bank will also examine its supervision methods, Zoellick added.