By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters), – On Sunday, International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board met with Kristalina Georgieva as Managing Director and representatives of the law firm that she claims pressured World Bank employees to shift data favoring China. This is according to sources who are familiar with this matter.

Sources said that the 24-member board would meet once more Monday in order to make Georgieva the next global lender head. It will also be the time when top representatives from many of its member countries are expected to arrive at Washington’s IMF and World Bank fall meetings.

The IMF’s executive board debated the matter for five hours https://www.reuters.com/business/imf-board-debate-georgievas-future-with-some-backing-europe-sources-2021-10-08 on Friday before adjourning and scheduling separate meetings on Sunday https://www.reuters.com/business/exclusive-imf-board-meet-sunday-more-talks-georgievas-future-2021-10-09 with Georgieva and attorneys from the WilmerHale law firm. These discussions lasted well into the late hours of Sunday.

This scandal could overshadow high-profile meetings where Georgieva and World Bank President David Malpass plan to discuss global economic issues, ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and international taxation.

Georgieva has strongly denied https://www.skdknick.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021.10.06-Statement-of-Kristalina-Georgieva-to-IMF-Executive-Board.pdf the allegations, which date back to 2017, when she was the World Bank’s chief executive.

WilmerHale’s investigation report prepared for the World Bank board https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/84a922cc9273b7b120d49ad3b9e9d3f9-0090012021/original/DB-Investigation-Findings-and-Report-to-the-Board-of-Executive-Directors-September-15-2021.pdf alleged that Georgieva applied “undue pressure” on bank staff at the time to make data changes to boost China’s ranking in the flagship “Doing Business” report, just as the bank was seeking Beijing’s support for a major capital increase.

Georgieva’s lawyer says https://www.reuters.com/business/imf-chief-georgievas-lawyer-claims-data-probe-violated-world-bank-staff-rules-2021-10-07the WilmerHale probe violated World Bank staff rules in part by denying her an opportunity to respond to the accusations, an assertion the law firm disputes.

Georgieva nor the law office had any immediate comment to make about Sunday’s meetings.

France, along with other European countries, backed Friday’s support for the Bulgarian economist in her final term as IMF chief. Meanwhile, officials from the United States and others wanted more time to examine the different accounts of data irregularities found in the World Bank’s flagship report “Doing Business”.

Sunday’s Financial Times reported by The Financial Times that Georgieva was wanted out by Japan and the United States, but did not provide any details.

U.S. Treasury controls 16.5% IMF shares and declined to comment. The Japanese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to the FT report.