The executive directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) after an investigation into impropriety have unanimously voted to fire president Mauricio Claver-Carone, a Trump appointee.

An investigation by American law firm Davis Polk found he gave preferential treatment to a woman at the IDB with whom he was having an intimate relationship.

A US Treasury spokesperson said: “President Claver-Carone’s refusal to fully cooperate with the investigation and his creation of a climate of fear of retaliation among staff and borrowing countries has fortified the confidence of the bank’s staff and shareholders and necessitates a change in leadership.”

Claver-Carone who was appointed in October 2020, took issue with this statement and replied, “ It’s shameful the US commented to the press before notifying me and that it is not defending two Americans against what is clearly fabricated information.”

Days earlier, Claver-Carone had issued a lengthy statement on the IDB’s website which read in part: “It is the first time in the history of any multilateral development bank that a process like this takes place where an elected leader has been subject to an arbitrary investigation without any formal complaint with the administrative rules of the organisation and launched on the basis of anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations.

“Transparency, accountability and due process are key components of trust, which is of the utmost importance today to the IDB’s work as a development institution. I believe that complaints even if anonymous, should be taken seriously and handled with care and firmly uphold that the IDB should be a rules-based institution, as established by charter and not a political organisation that is driven by ideological or partisan interests.” 

This may very well have irked the directors and senior managers at the IDB, ensuring that the president’s ‘goose was cooked’.

The matter now goes before the governing board where a majority is required in order to formally dismiss Claver-Carone. 

The three largest shareholders of the IDB are the United States, Argentina and Brazil, who together account for 53 per cent of the voting power.

It is alleged that as president of the IDB and her direct boss, Claver-Carone gave the IDB staff member he is said to have had intimate relations with, a pay raise of more than 45 per cent on her base salary in less than a year.

Axios is reporting that Claver-Carone allegedly threatened to “burn” or “bring the bank down” over its accusations of impropriety and favouritism.