There are strong indications that the week-long International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group annual meetings will kick off today amid anxieties among attendees as data-rigging allegations levelled against IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, may impact the opening of meetings in Washington, D.C, United States.
The meetings will be opened despite the fact that the IMF executive board failed to conclude its review over the allegations after yet another marathon meeting held on Sunday.
The IMF’s executive board debated the allegations against the Bulgarian IMF chief for hours on Friday before adjourning and scheduling separate meetings on Sunday with Georgieva and attorneys from the WilmerHale Law firm.
The Fund’s board met with Georgieva and the law firm that claimed she pressured World Bank staff to change data to boost China’s “Doing Business” ranking when she was World Bank CEO in 2017.
The IMF, in a statement, claimed that the board had sought to “clarify details” in the review, assuring that “the board made further significant progress today in its assessment with a view to very soon concluding its consideration of the matter.”
Insiders hinted that the 24-member IMF board planned to further meet again today to decide Georgieva’s future at the IMF.
However, a source familiar with the discussions expressed confidence that the IMF chief would be cleared by the board even as the scandal appears to overshadow the high-profile meetings.
Before Sunday meeting by the board, France and other European governments had, on Friday, backed Georgieva to complete her term as IMF chief while US officials and others had sought more time to study the differing accounts about data irregularities in the World Bank’s now-cancelled flagship “Doing Business” report.
As expected, the IMF boss along with World Bank President, David Malpass, will take a lead role in discussions on global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, debt relief and efforts to fast-track vaccinations in order to sustain the growth trajectories in many recovering economies globally.
Meanwhile, Georgieva has strongly denied the allegations, which dated back to 2017, when she was the World Bank’s chief executive until she was again appointed the IMF’s managing director in October, 2019.
The law firm’s investigation report prepared for the World Bank board alleged that Georgieva applied “undue pressure” on bank staff at the time to make data changes to boost China’s ranking in the flagship “Doing Business” report, just as the bank was seeking Beijing’s support for a major capital increase.
Debunking the allegation, Georgieva’s lawyer maintained that WilmerHale’s probe violated World Bank staff rules in part by denying her an opportunity to respond to the accusations, an assertion the law firm disputed.
Despite France and Euopean governments’ backing, the Financial Times has reported that the US and Japan want Georgieva out of the job, without citing any specific sources.
