IMF Says Board Met With WilmerHale Lawyers on World Bank Data Probe

A participant stands near an IMF logo at the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Annual Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, on Oct.12, 2018. (Johannes P. Christo/Reuters)

WASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board met on Monday with officials from the WilmerHale law firm about its probe of the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2018” report, and will meet soon with IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, a spokesperson said.

The WilmerHale report alleged that Georgieva, as the World Bank’s CEO in 2017, applied undue pressure on staff to alter data in the flagship “Doing Business” report to benefit China.

The IMF board “remains committed to a thorough, objective, and timely review” of the matter, the spokesperson said.

By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder