Securities: Ethics Chief Says Wolfowitz Broke Rules

The head of a World Bank ethics panel says that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz broke staff rules when he intervened in his girlfriend's personnel matters even though he said he wanted no role in transferring her outside the bank. In a statement that looked at Wolfowitz's role in arranging a large promotion for his girlfriend, the former official, Ad Melkert, said that it would have been in Wolfowitz's best interest to transfer Shaha Riza to avoid conflict of interest issues.

Ethics Chief: Wolfowitz Broke Rules

Melkert added that "contrary to what the staff rules allowed for, Mr. Wolfowitz's proposal explicitly insisted on the possibility of maintaining professional contacts with Ms. Riza. He kept that opinion even after grudgingly following the advice by the ethics committee. Thus, Mr. Wolfowitz denied that the general staff rules should be applicable to his particular situation." The World Bank's overseeing board of directors says that they have finished interviewing people about the matter and now will create a report.