World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz will get an opportunity next week to address a panel that is investigating whether he properly handled a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.
He hopes to make his case and answer questions regarding the matter, which has prompted calls for his resignation by bank staff, the European Parliament, aid groups and some Democratic politicians.
"While I'm disappointed that the board did not give us a few extra days as requested, I am pleased that they will hear from Mr Wolfowitz on Monday and that they agreed that I can attend," Mr Wolfowitz's lawyer Robert Bennett said yesterday.
At issue is whether Mr Wolfowitz violated bank rules in his handling of the 2005 promotion of bank employee Shaha Riza to a high-paying state department position.
She already worked at the bank when Mr Wolfowitz took the helm in the summer of 2005. She was assigned duties outside the bank to avoid a conflict of interest, although she remained on the bank's payroll.
The terms and conditions of the package, however, had not been "commented on, reviewed or approved" by the World Bank's ethics committee, its chairman or the bank's board, according to the bank's executive directors. - (AP)
