The IMF Executive Board has announced that it has initiated a probe against Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva after an investigation found she manipulated data in favour of China while in a senior role at the World Bank.
Earlier, an investigation by law firm Wilmer Hale released last month found that during her time as World Bank CEO, Georgieva was among top officials who pressured staff into changing data to China’s benefit in the 2018 edition of its closely watched Doing Business report.
In a brief statement, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said the board “met today with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva as part of its ongoing review of the matter raised by Wilmer Hale’s investigation of the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report.”
“The Executive Board remains committed to a thorough, objective and timely review and expects to meet again soon for further discussion,” he added.
The board comprising 24 members and the managing director met earlier this week with representatives from Wilmer Hale. Rice declined to comment on whether Georgieva attended that meeting.
The World Bank has since scrapped the report that ranked nations based on their investment climate, while Georgieva, who took the top job at the International Monetary Fund in 2019, has called the investigation’s findings “wrong” and said she “did not pressure anyone to alter any reports.”
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