World Bank transparency challenges highlighted by probe into leaked Board documents
15 February 2007
Journalist Richard Behar continues his discussion of problems within the World Bank, highlighting the Bank's failure to make its internal processes transparent.
The article is the second in a series highlighting tensions between Paul Wolfowitz and his top Management, and the Board of Directors.
Behar first exposed tensions between Management and the Board in a January 30 article, in which he referenced leaked minutes from a Board meeting illustrating the "cold war" between the President and the Board.
Paul Wolfowitz and the Board have since denied that tensions are as heated as Behar suggests. They have launched an internal investigation to identify the source of the leaked minutes, and have assured Bank staff and journalists that the tensions suggested by the minutes are exaggerated.
The investigation suggests deeper transparency challenges at the institution, Behar contends. The institution fails to make its operations accountable and transparent, and is shrouded in a general culture of secrecy.
Read the articles
- World Bank Launches Internal Proble to Root Out Leakers, by Richard Behar, February 7, 2007 (Fox News)
- Wolfowitz vs. the World Bank Board: It's Trench Warfare, by Richard Behar, January 30, 2007 (Fox News website)
- "Raw" version of the January 8, 2007 board minutes (Acrobat pdf 65 KB)
- "Cheat Sheet"--Full names and titles of people mentioned in January 8, 2007 board meeting minutes (Acrobat pdf 90 KB)
- Official Minutes of January 8, 2007 Board Meeting (Acrobat pdf, 345 KB)