WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fate of Kristalina Georgieva is at stake International Monetary Fund Prior to the start of the autumn meetings of the two financial institutions, the World Bank was suspended on Sunday evening after a new meeting of the executive bodies to consider allegations of manipulating data in favor of China during its tenure.
The board of directors of the International Monetary Fund is expected to meet again on Monday, according to two sources known with the file, after meetings over the past week. The council confirmed that “significant new progress” had been made in understanding the file.
The 24-member council, which represents 190 countries, usually makes its decisions unanimously. In a statement issued at midnight on Sunday, his spokesman clarified that the aim was to end the matter as soon as possible, similar to the statement issued two days ago.
Although the management of the fund eventually decides to renew confidence in Georgia, the 68-year-old Bulgarian economist will remain vulnerable to the issue, which the law firm Wilmer Hill released the findings of an investigation on September 16.
Carrying out business activities
The investigation pointed to irregularities in the draft Business Process Report issued by the World Bank in 2018 and 2020.
The authors of the report accused Georgia of pressuring staff to rank China in the best category when he was the managing director of the World Bank.
The inquiry was launched at the request of the World Bank’s ethics committee, which at the time classified the countries according to the trading conditions in those countries, sparking a number of controversies and leading to the resignation of the former chairman. Paul Romer, Department of Economics, World Bank.
Failure to reach a decision at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which begin on Monday, will inevitably be reflected.
Georgia intervenes during a seminar on “Rediscovering the Workplace for Women”, but anticipation surrounds her press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
Split inside the box
The Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund has asked representatives of the Director-General and the office of “Wilmer Hill”, but members of the Fund are still divided over Georgia’s fate. To her.
Many sources familiar with the matter say that European and African countries, on the one hand, want to keep her in her position, while the United States and Japan have reservations on continuing her obligations.
Six former World Bank officials recently defended her in a statement released by Georgia’s public relations agency, describing her as “very honest and committed to development issues”.
Organizational integrity is at stake
Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development, told the Financial Times that his dismissal was “a dangerous and costly surrender to anti-Beijing hysteria,” citing US allegations that China was interfering in the affairs of international companies. .
For his part, former World Bank economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz described the Wilmer Hill report as a “demolition plan” and described current attempts to dismiss her as a “conspiracy”. “Project Syndicate” website to publish comments.
Moreover, Georgia’s supporters drew attention to her effects during the health crisis caused by the outbreak of Govt-19, at which time she was active in helping countries most vulnerable to the epidemic.
Instead, US Treasury spokeswoman Alexandra Lamana said this week that “our primary responsibility is to safeguard the integrity of international financial institutions.”
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund will release its latest global economic forecast.
In early October 2019, Georgia took over as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, replacing Christine Lagarde, who had been appointed President of the European Central Bank, at which time she was the only candidate.
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