“Let me put it to you very simply. It is not true. Neither in this case, nor before nor after, have I pressured staff to manipulate data,” Georgieva told IMF staff, according to a transcript of the meeting provided to Reuters.
His remarks went beyond what he said in a statement Thursday in which he claimed to disagree with the findings of the report, prepared by the WilmerHale law firm at the request of the World Bank’s ethics committee.
The report found that Georgieva and other senior World Bank officials exerted “undue pressure” to improve China’s ranking on business climate.
Georgieva told IMF staff that she highly values data and analysis and does not pressure staff to change it, according to the transcript.
WilmerHale said he is working on a second report that will address “possible misconduct by staff members” in relation to the data irregularities.
The ethics committee of the IMF executive board is reviewing the report, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said on Friday. Georgieva briefed the Board on Thursday about the World Bank allegations.
“As part of the normal procedure on these types of matters, the ethics committee will report to the board,” Rice added, but did not give a timetable for conclusions.
The World Bank, a Washington-based multilateral lender, was then seeking China’s support for a large capital increase, an effort that Georgieva, as its CEO, and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, were overseeing.