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Washington (AFP) – The assembly of governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) dismissed its president, Mauricio Claver-Carone, on Monday, after an investigation concluded that he had an intimate relationship with a subordinate, breaking the rules of the institution.
Claver-Carone “will cease to function as president of the bank, effective September 26, 2022,” the IDB said in a statement.
He will be replaced by the executive vice president, the Honduran Queen Irene Mejía Chacón, under the direction of the executive board, until a new president is elected.
Claver-Carone was promoted to the position by the then US president Donald Trump in 2020, thus breaking with the tradition that the position of this financial entity fell to a Latin American.
The highest authority of the IDB, made up of finance ministers from its 48 member countries, decided to dismiss him in an electronic vote that began last Friday.
Tension at Latin America’s largest development bank has reached a fever pitch in recent days, after it was revealed that the executive board had voted unanimously to recommend the removal of Claver-Carone.
The investigation, carried out by the Davis Polk law firm, established that Claver-Carone violated the institution’s code of ethics by having a romantic relationship with a bank employee, to whom he would have given preferential treatment.
The US official, the son of a Spaniard and a Cuban, with a career in the White House, the International Monetary Fund and the Treasury and known for his criticism of Cuba and Venezuela, has always denied the accusations against him and has stated that the investigation it is “arbitrary” and the result of a political ruse to remove him from his duties.
“The IDB Group and its teams continue to operate normally,” the bank said Monday afternoon.
– Fallen from grace-
Claver-Carone arrived at the IDB and leaves it, involved in controversy.
Trump’s decision to present a candidate irritated Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico, because it broke a tacit pact under which it is a Latin American who must lead the IDB. These countries also considered that it set a precedent.
The last few months have also been convulsive since the bank decided to open an independent investigation into Claver-Carone after receiving an anonymous complaint that accused him of having an intimate relationship with a subordinate.
At the Summit of the Americas held in June, US President Joe Biden, who defeated Trump at the polls, surprised by proposing an “ambitious reform” of the IDB, while senior officials avoided appearing in the photo next to Claver- Carone.
In recent days, in statements to the press, several bank sources accused Claver-Carone of not cooperating with the investigation and of criticizing it, in addition to refusing to hand over a mobile phone provided by the financial institution.
The IDB was born in 1959 and is one of the main sources of long-term financing for the economic, social and institutional development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The bank’s three main shareholders – the United States, Argentina and Brazil – together hold almost 53% of the voting rights.
Before Claver-Carone, it had four presidents: the Chilean Felipe Herrera, the Mexican Antonio Ortiz Mena, the Uruguayan Enrique Iglesias and the Colombian Luis Alberto Moreno.
© 2022 AFP
