§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their position on the investigation initiated by the President of the World Bank into allegations of fraud and other illegal activities by senior bank staff. [HL3541]
§ Baroness AmosWhile there is no reason to believe that there is a widespread problem of corruption in the World Bank, we welcome the steps taken by the bank to root out corruption and fraud in the organisation. These include recent measures to introduce an anti-corruption hot line and an Oversight Committee responsible for supervising all investigations. We are satisfied that the World Bank is doing its best to address allegations of corruption and is taking the same attitude to corruption internally as it does externally.
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their view of the draft proposals by the working group of executive directors of the World Bank in relation to the reform of their inspection panel. [HL3540]
§ Baroness AmosWe support the efforts of the working group, which was set up in March 1998, to consult widely with bank staff, management, the inspection panel, claimants, executive directors and others to build a consensus on an operational framework for the panel. The working group was originally mandated to report to the board within three months. It has had a number of meetings, and its consultations continue. To date no draft proposals have been formally tabled for consideration by the board.