Corruption and Fraud at the IMF and World Bank
Topic: International
With the world waiting for economic relief, the G-20 struck an agreement in
April identifying actors who will ride to the rescue: Nearly $1 trillion will be
given to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Multilateral Development
Banks (MDBs) so that they can help “the vulnerable in the poorest countries.”
But these very institutions are culpable of accelerating the spread of poverty
as the developing world confronts the crisis. In a frenzy of deregulation and
poorly planned privatization, the IMF and the World Bank (the largest MDB) cut
away both oversight of the private sector and social safety nets for the poor
beginning in the 1980s.
As a consequence, by 1998, these institutions were presiding over a spectacular
financial collapse in East Asia, Russia, the former Soviet republics and
Brazil, which was in hindsight, a harbinger of things to come. Three years
later, Argentina (the IMF’s best student) went bust and half of its people were
suddenly poor. After years of hewing to IMF financial dictates, citizens lost
their jobs, bank accounts, savings and pensions overnight.
But let’s forget the “poverty-fighting” track record of these organizations for
a moment. Where does each stand in relation to the systemic problem that caused
the panic in the first place – lack of oversight? The IMF and World Bank are
themselves without any real external oversight. They are virtually impenetrable
by the legislatures of their member governments. ...
Labyrinthine bureaucracies, coupled with immunities from national and
international laws, have become, for them, impunity.
Neither institution has answered for its track record because no one is
entitled to ask. Neither Bank nor Fund officials can be subpoenaed by national
legislatures, nor can they be obliged to testify in court. No government can
demand internal documents from them. While each has some disclosure policies,
these often remain unimplemented because the organizations cannot be sued. This
is the stunning contradiction of the G-20 action: the signatories declared,
“the era of bank secrecy is over,” but then dumped a trillion dollars of public
money into the most secretive financial institutions in the world.
To make matters worse, IMF and Bank staff members who witness corruption or
fraud (and there are plenty) are not allowed to inform affected governments or
the press, except under the most stringent constraints. If they do, they risk
deportation back to their home countries. This assures perpetual corruption
instead of beneficial reform.
One would think that steps to ensure whistleblower protections would have
followed in the wake of the Bank’s biggest black mark in history – the
resignation of president Paul Wolfowitz, forced by anonymous staffers who
exposed his cronyism, favoritism, incompetence, and improper political
dealings. Lost in his girlfriend-salary scandal were the revelations of
coordinated support he received from the Bank’s general counsel, the Department
of Institutional Integrity (INT), human resources, and the Ethics Committee of
the Board of Directors. The whistleblowers in the Wolfowitz affair have since
been relentlessly pursued.
But protections from retaliation weren’t strengthened. The bank adopted a
“whistleblower protection policy” last year that staff members already
recognize as a trap: confidentiality may be breached; investigative reports
remain hidden; grievance hearings to address retaliation are neither impartial
nor external; and guaranteed reinstatement rights (if a whistleblower is
vindicated) don’t exist.
In the past year, the federal government has given away hundreds of billions of
dollars without first ensuring an honest accounting for it. The results of such
actions are not surprising – improper bonuses and wasteful spending has
outraged the public. We cannot forget this episode so soon – if an institution
is going to collect public money, then it must be accountable to the public. It
must have in place the governance measures that ensure that corruption and
fraud can be safely exposed by those who witness it. And neither the World Bank
nor the IMF passes that test.
************
Bea Edwards is
the International Reform Director of the Government Accountability Project, the
nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization, www.whistleblower.org
IMF World Bank Debt Governance and Corruption
"The World Bank, IMF, affiliates, staff
while performing duties on their behalf, are protected by immunity granted to
Intergovernmental Organizations - by now we know this only too well. No suing,
prosecuting, accountability, admitted. However, say for the sake of
Negotiation, they have committed mischief, backed by facts and evidence,
leading to serious consequences and ramifications they rather cover up for
various reasons.
I read with a knowing smile words: 'they...
have committed mischief.' For those who invest the time to make themselves
knowledgeable by reading about the corruption and debt governance, particularly
from trusted reputable sources online, there can be little doubt that the
business of the World Bank, IMF and FED is to commit mischief and crimes
against humanity. As a negotiator, it's crucial that you start by getting to
understand the history and nature of the other party before you start to
influence them.
IMF
& World Bank: Two major levers of US economic hegemony
The IMF & World Bank are UN agencies, it’s
sovereign eating un-elected dictator technocrats are UN agents."The UN
& its agencies are immune to laws of countries where they operate” –
Wikipedia The UN produces nothing, sends no revenues back into the economies,
is expanding into every activity in the world. Did you know we're funding the
UN's 'World Tourist Agency'? Do you think the UN is there for you? “In fact,
her IMF salary of $467,940 plus an $83,760 additional allowance is not subject
to any taxes. See Christine Lagarde, Scourge of Tax Evaders, Pays No Tax. No
taxes is the norm for most United Nations employees …” Economist and writer
John Perkins was deeply involved in Washington's economic schemes to create a
global empire. Now he tells the world what's come out of it - and who really
controls the world's biggest economy.
IMF and World Bank policies are opening national
markets to US-dominated "multinational corporations" effectively
destroying the homegrown economy of poor countries all over the world from
Latin America to Africa to Asia. The program was essentially about enriching a
few ruling families by kickbacks and bribes accompanying loans that opened the
borrowing countries to American companies. Since the borrowing countries could
never pay the loans back, the economic hitmen returned asking for cheap oil and
minerals, favorable business deal, etc.
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