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IMF boss Georgieva: Kowtow before China?
Photo: Virginia Mayo / AP
IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva has come under pressure because she is said to have arranged for a report on the business climate in China during her time at the World Bank.
An expert report by the law firm WilmerHale that became known on Thursday reveals irregularities in the "Doing Business" management report published by the World Bank.
Accordingly, the World Bank was in delicate negotiations with China in autumn 2017, while the 2018 management report was about to be published.
In the World Bank's 2017 business climate report, China came in 78th, which caused displeasure in Beijing.
According to WilmerHale's findings, the then World Bank Director General Georgieva intervened and asked the staff involved in the report to use a different method in order to ultimately achieve a better result for China.
She is said to have reprimanded a senior employee for having misjudged the importance of the management report for China.
According to WilmerHale, Georgieva's intervention ultimately ensured that some data in the 2018 management report was changed and that China was able to retain 78th place - instead of slipping down another seven places.
Georgieva denied the allegations.
In a statement on AFP's request, she said she did not in any way agree with "the conclusions and interpretations" of this investigation.
Georgieva took over the management of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October 2019.
mik / AFP