IMF chief facing data-rigging allegations defends actions

WASHINGTON — The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that a report alleging she had a role in data-rigging at the World Bank when she was a top official there was not an accurate representation of events. The statement came a day after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva appeared before the agency’s executive board, which is investigating allegations that in 2018 World Bank employees were pressured to alter data affecting its business-climate rankings of China and other nations. The allegations of data-rigging come from a review conducted by the WillimerHale law firm that alleged Georgieva pressured the bank’s economists to improve China’s ranking at a time when she and other bank officials were attempting to persuade China to support a boost in the World Bank’s funding resources. The law firm’s report prompted the World Bank to discontinue issuing the annual Doing Business report. Our primary responsibility is to uphold the integrity of international institutions.” In her statement to the IMF’s 24-member executive board, Georgieva said, “The WilmerHale Report does not accurately characterize my actions with respect to Doing Business 2018, nor does it accurately portray my character or the way that I have conducted myself over a long professional career.”