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International Research & Publications

International Banking Accountability Research

Multilateral Development Banks

Because there are no enforceable affirmative action or Equal Employment Opportunity laws at the Multilateral Development Banks, Government Accountability Project treats claims of race discrimination at these institutions as whistleblowing.

Assessment of the Implementation of the International Banks Whistleblower Policies” (September 2019): Government Accountability Project examined the progress of five major international banks in implementing their whistleblower policies. The report seeks not to evaluate the existing policies but rather to assess their implementation; such assessment is necessary to determine if whistleblower claims are being resolved appropriately and moreover whether the policies are working as intended.

Study of Racial Discrimination (June 2009): Government Accountability Project released a study of racial discrimination in the hiring, promotion, and retention practices of black employees at the World Bank. In response to allegations raised by whistleblowers there, we found that the Bank’s rhetoric about inclusion and equity does not extend to its own employment processes. The report found that a race ceiling existed at the institution, and that the Bank’s legal system fails to address racial discrimination adequately.

“The IDB, Poverty and Racial Discrimination” (October 2009): This report, which is based on whistleblower disclosures, shows that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) also fails to promote racial equality adequately in its hiring, retention, and promotion practices. In addition, IDB lending has failed, over the years, to reduce poverty and inequality in Latin America effectively, especially among Afro-descendant and indigenous populations.

Corrupt Privitization Does Not Deter IMF Lending to Sri Lanka” (July 2009): On July 24, the Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 20-month standby arrangement worth $2.6 billion for the government of Sri Lanka. According to the IMF’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, the lending will help the government to reverse the decline in tax revenue suffered over the past few years. The IMF is on the record, however, recognizing that budget deficits and the lack of reserves are the result of reluctance on the part of successive governments to implement measures necessary to safeguard state assets and collect revenues. Among other things, two Supreme Court decisions handed down since June 2008 show specifically that corruption and fraud favoring private interests in the sale of state-owned enterprises, a policy promoted by the Fund itself, together with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), are partially to blame.

Running the Gauntlet – The Campaign for Credible Corporate Whistleblower Rights” (September 2008): This report surveys the dangerous landscape of corporate whistleblower laws and recommends strategies for corporate whistleblowers to best protect themselves from future retaliation.

Privatization & Corruption – The World Bank and Azerbaijan” (August 2008): This report exposes the World Bank’s role in the widespread corruption surrounding privatization in Azerbaijan during the late 1990’s. The report shows that James Wolfensohn, then president of the World Bank, personally assisted a rogue financier in his efforts to gain control of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Plundering the Yerevan Water Utility” (August 2008): This report investigates allegations of corruption in the World Bank-funded Municipal Development Project (MDP) in Yerevan, Armenia. A whistleblower with access to internal documents about the MDP produced evidence showing that the General Director of the Yerevan Water and Sewerage Company (YWSC) in the capital and the international representative of the Italian company contracted to manage and modernize the YWSC were the same person during the crucial period between 2000 and 2002. As a result of this conflict of interest, project objectives were changed without authorization, substandard materials were used, performance standards were lowered, and works to be completed were never undertaken, among other things.

Risky Appropriations: Gambling US Energy Policy on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership” (March 2008): In this groundbreaking report, Government Accountability Project and a coalition of public interest, environmental, and policy groups detailed the severe shortcomings and false assertions posed in the Global Energy Nuclear Partnership (GNEP).