World Bank panel finds Wolfowitz violated rules

Washington - The World Bank's embattled President Paul Wolfowitz violated bank rules and ethics codes and put his own interest above those of the bank, according to a report from a special panel released Monday. World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLETThe bank is also in the midst of a 'crisis in leadership,' a board committee reported to the full governing board. Wolfowitz, a co-architect of the Iraq war who has made many foes among bank staff and managers, is fighting for his job after the committee found he broke ethics rules by arranging a pay raise for a girlfriend who worked at the World Bank. Wolfowitz is to meet with the board at 5 pm Tuesday to discuss the situation, the bank said in an e-mail to reporters. At issue is a hefty pay raise and promotion for Wolfowitz's girlfriend Shaha Riza, three months after Wolfowitz became the development bank's head in June 2005. She was loaned out to the US State Department to avoid a potential conflict of interest, but kept on the World Bank payroll. Wolfowitz, 63, denies wrongdoing and says he was broadly following suggestions by the bank's ethics committee. The ethics panel's ex-head, former Dutch Labour Party politician Ad Melkert, has disputed Wolfowitz's account in a statement to the World Bank investigators. Germany, France, the Netherlands and Norway have been among Wolfowitz's sharpest critics, calling for quick resolution of a scandal that has gripped the 185-nation bank for a month. Foes say the ethics issues have undermined the credibility of a global anti-corruption drive that Wolfowitz has made a hallmark of his tenure. US President George W Bush, who nominated Wolfowitz for the post, has continued to back him. But Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the main US representative to the bank, has tended to be more cautious in his support. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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TaskMay 15th, 2007 - 04:53:54

Do not get caught up in the 'ethics' dialog. It is just an excuse. Wolfowitz himself was 'juiced' into the WB position. He was never intended to be anything other than a seat warmer to keep George W. happy while in the prime of his power.

And the WB knew this from the start, they never intended that Paul be anything other than an inside joke. We have all left an opposing chess piece in a threatening position for several turns knowing full well that we are going to dispose of it at our first advantagess oportunity.

Now as Georges power leaves him, so does his 'juiced-in' people in places outside of his control. It has all been scripted, we are just watching it 'play' out.

The rats always know the ship is going to sink before the passengers.

Good luck to us ALL.

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MannsteinMay 16th, 2007 - 13:45:07

The sooner this war criminal goes the better off we'll all be. If we're lucky he will face his own Nuremberg in the not too distant future.

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