Re: [A-List] World Bank scandals

[Leon Kuunders <leon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Subject:

[A-List] World Bank scandals

From:

"Michael Keaney" <michael011@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Date:

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:20:20 +0300

[...]
The affair involves preferential treatment afforded to Wolfowitz's
girlfriend, Shaha Riza, who worked at the bank long before her lover
received his sinecure from a grateful president. Bank rules forbid those
romantically involved to work together - a dubious rule, especially as
the bank has 10,000 staff, but a rule none the less. What happened next
is murky, with conflicting accounts from Wolfowitz and his advisors set
against those of other bank staff. But we now know - thanks to a smoking
gun memo - that Wolfowitz intervened to secure salary increases of 46%
for his girlfriend, dictating in precise detail the terms to be offered
to Riza on her secondment.

  

According to the dutch newspaper NRC Wolfowitz was forced to intervene by Ad Melkert, chairman of the bank's ethics committee. He noted in a letter on november 25th, 2005, that matters were handled following the guidelines of the committee. After that he invited Wolfowitz and his girlfriend over for dinner. Wolfowitz and Melkert were both very pleased about it.

--Leon.