Bloomberg – The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) criticized a report by the bank’s board of directors is considering an investigation into anonymous allegations that he had an intimate relationship with an employee, He called the situation a political campaign in the media to undermine his team’s work.
Mauricio Claver-Carone spoke publicly for the first time on Friday after Reuters reported allegations against him on Thursday. He said they should be kept confidential and that they were disclosed to the media in violation of the IDB’s code of ethics.“to give arms” to those who want to stop their initiatives to modernize the bank.
Ahead of a presentation to IDB staff on the institution’s 2022 economic prospects, Claver-Carone said the bank has mechanisms in place to deal seriously with ethical issues. He assured that these were not taken into account, which is against staff due process, and that he is awaiting the opportunity to present his arguments and respond to the allegations.
“I would like to present you with direct evidence of the truth today,” Claver-Carone said. “But I will respect what should be a confidential process under the bank’s rules and the possibility of an alleged investigation, according to sources speaking to the press, again in violation of the bank’s rules.”
Reuters reported Thursday about the anonymous allegation of an intimate relationship with an employee. The bank’s board of directors – representatives of its member countries in Washington – considered asking its board of governors (composed mostly of finance ministers and capital-based central bankers) to launch a formal investigation into the allegations, Reuters reported, citing unidentified people.
The IDB press office declined to comment on whether the bank will launch an investigation into the allegations.
Claver-Carone said she made changes at the bank to boost lending, cut costs and eliminate luxuries like chauffeur-driven cars and private jets. The bank lent a record $23.5 billion to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2021 to help the region recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, and Claver-Carone has agreed to a capital increase for the branch of organization that lends to the private sector.
Claver Carone was elected head of the bank after being nominated by then-US President Donald Trump in 2020. breaking a six-decade precedent in which the head of the bank was from a Latin American nation. He was previously Trump’s senior director for the western hemisphere on the National Security Council.
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