'Not true': IMF chief Georgieva denies pro-China pressure on World Bank report
CTV
International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva on Friday denied allegations that she pressured World Bank staff to alter data to favor China during her time as World Bank CEO, as the IMF's executive board launched a formal review of the matter.
Georgieva used a previously scheduled meeting with the IMF's 2,700-strong staff to address findings contained in an independent report issued on Thursday on data irregularities in the World Bank's now-canceled "Doing Business" rankings of country business climates.
"Let me put it very simply to you. Not true. Neither in this case, nor before or after, I have put pressure on staff to manipulate data," Georgieva told IMF staff, according to a transcript of the meeting provided to Reuters.
Her remarks went further than she did in a statement issued on Thursday that said she fundamentally disagreed with the findings of the report, prepared by the law firm WilmerHale at the request of the World Bank's ethics committee.
The report found that Georgieva and other senior World Bank officials applied "undue pressure" on staff to boost China's ranking in terms of business climate.
