Yellen: Scandal could hamper IMF’s credibility

The United States will review any new developments in Georgieva matter and Biden’s administration calls for institutions to better protect whistle-blowers.

U. S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that a scandal over the credibility of rankings of countries’ business climates could hurt confidence in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank unless the institutions take strong actions to prevent misconduct and support whistle-blowers.

International Monetary Fund Chief Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday distanced herself and the fund from a data rigging scandal involving her former employer, the World Bank, but said she did not expect the saga to hamper decades of close collaboration between the two institutions.

Georgieva, who was cleared of wrongdoing in the matter by the IMF’s executive board on Monday, had sharply criticized a report prepared by law firm WilmerHale for the World Bank’s board, and the decision to make its findings public.