Kristalina Georgieva, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, described the results of an independent investigation into the claims that as World Bank president, she had pressurized and encouraged her employees to falsify statistics in order to make China's business climate look more favourable, as "false and baseless."
Georgieva also reportedly accused the World Bank's previous president, Jim Kong Kim, of manipulation, she said in a statement she wants to deliver to the International Monetary Fund's executive board.
She said she intervened in the matter to prevent a request by Kim's staff to include Hong Kong statistics in China's rating in the World Bank's Doing Business 2018 report, which would have considerably boosted the country's status.
There have so far been no comments available on Georgieva’s comment from Kim.
The World Bank issued a report on the issue last week based on law firm WilmerHale inquiry on the matter. In the report, it was discovered that top executives of the bank, including Georgieva, had put undue pressure on their employees for changing the methodology for analysis of data in order to enhance the position of China in the Doing Business report of the bank at a time when the bank was seeking approval from Beijing for a capital increase at the bank.
Georgieva, the former World Bank chief executive, has publicly and privately chastised the investigation. But she went into further depth in criticizing the report in a message to the IMF's executive board, a copy of which was obtained by the media on Friday.
She said that the investigation's conclusions featured "the erroneous and specious implication... that my colleagues and I at the World Bank would falsify a country's Doing Business ranking in order to increase our own."
"To be clear: no such thing happened and no such thing would ever happen under my leadership," she said.
Georgieva stated that her efforts to prevent Hong Kong data from being included in China's Doing Business rating were evidence of her own concerns for upholding the sanctity of the quality of data used and provided by the World Bank.
A Bulgarian economist and the first top ranking official of the World Bank from a poor country, Georgieva has received demands for her to quit over the subject, even while former colleagues of her have spoken out in public in her favour.
The IMF board of directors met on Tuesday to receive and review an initial report from its ethics committee on the issue and agreed to reconvene soon.
"This has undermined the reputation of the World Bank, and it has also called into question the current leadership at the IMF, where the integrity of data is critical to its mission, and where undue influence by any self-interested power could put the stability of the global financial system at risk," Waters said.
The current World Bank president, David Malpass, has stated that the results of the WilmerHale study spoke for themselves, but has not commented more.
Georgieva said that the WilmerHale investigation incorrectly concluded that she instructed bank officials to moderate China's expectations regarding its Doing Business rating because she was concerned that China might withhold support for the capital increase.
Georgieva expressed sorrow that colleagues at the bank "did not think they could come up to discuss with me worries regarding data integrity," and stated that she was dedicated to improving communication.
The World Bank's current president, David Malpass, has said the findings of the WilmerHale investigation speak for themselves but has not commented in greater detail.
Georgieva said the WilmerHale probe wrongly inferred that she asked bank officials to manage China's expectations about its ranking in the Doing Business report because she was worried that China could withhold support for the capital increase.
Georgieva said she did regret that colleagues at the bank "did not believe that they could speak out to raise with me issues about data integrity," and was committed to fostering better communication.
(Source:www.wion.com)
Georgieva also reportedly accused the World Bank's previous president, Jim Kong Kim, of manipulation, she said in a statement she wants to deliver to the International Monetary Fund's executive board.
She said she intervened in the matter to prevent a request by Kim's staff to include Hong Kong statistics in China's rating in the World Bank's Doing Business 2018 report, which would have considerably boosted the country's status.
There have so far been no comments available on Georgieva’s comment from Kim.
The World Bank issued a report on the issue last week based on law firm WilmerHale inquiry on the matter. In the report, it was discovered that top executives of the bank, including Georgieva, had put undue pressure on their employees for changing the methodology for analysis of data in order to enhance the position of China in the Doing Business report of the bank at a time when the bank was seeking approval from Beijing for a capital increase at the bank.
Georgieva, the former World Bank chief executive, has publicly and privately chastised the investigation. But she went into further depth in criticizing the report in a message to the IMF's executive board, a copy of which was obtained by the media on Friday.
She said that the investigation's conclusions featured "the erroneous and specious implication... that my colleagues and I at the World Bank would falsify a country's Doing Business ranking in order to increase our own."
"To be clear: no such thing happened and no such thing would ever happen under my leadership," she said.
Georgieva stated that her efforts to prevent Hong Kong data from being included in China's Doing Business rating were evidence of her own concerns for upholding the sanctity of the quality of data used and provided by the World Bank.
A Bulgarian economist and the first top ranking official of the World Bank from a poor country, Georgieva has received demands for her to quit over the subject, even while former colleagues of her have spoken out in public in her favour.
The IMF board of directors met on Tuesday to receive and review an initial report from its ethics committee on the issue and agreed to reconvene soon.
"This has undermined the reputation of the World Bank, and it has also called into question the current leadership at the IMF, where the integrity of data is critical to its mission, and where undue influence by any self-interested power could put the stability of the global financial system at risk," Waters said.
The current World Bank president, David Malpass, has stated that the results of the WilmerHale study spoke for themselves, but has not commented more.
Georgieva said that the WilmerHale investigation incorrectly concluded that she instructed bank officials to moderate China's expectations regarding its Doing Business rating because she was concerned that China might withhold support for the capital increase.
Georgieva expressed sorrow that colleagues at the bank "did not think they could come up to discuss with me worries regarding data integrity," and stated that she was dedicated to improving communication.
The World Bank's current president, David Malpass, has said the findings of the WilmerHale investigation speak for themselves but has not commented in greater detail.
Georgieva said the WilmerHale probe wrongly inferred that she asked bank officials to manage China's expectations about its ranking in the Doing Business report because she was worried that China could withhold support for the capital increase.
Georgieva said she did regret that colleagues at the bank "did not believe that they could speak out to raise with me issues about data integrity," and was committed to fostering better communication.
(Source:www.wion.com)
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