WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush continues to support World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz despite a scandal over pay raises and promotions given to his girlfriend, the White House said Friday.
"The president has confidence in Paul Wolfowitz and his work" at the World Bank, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Wolfowitz, who was backed for the prestigious post by Bush in 2005, was Friday fighting for his political life after World Bank directors said they had not approved staggering pay rises for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, a World Bank staffer.
As calls mounted for the former US deputy defense secretary to resign, the 24 executive directors issued a statement that left Wolfowitz squarely isolated heading into a weekend of high-level talks among global financial leaders.
After a day-long emergency meeting late Thursday that stretched late into the night, the board detailed the findings of its investigation into the row over Riza, Wolfowitz`s Libyan-born partner, Riza.
More than 100 pages of documents released with the statement revealed that on Wolfowitz`s personal direction, Riza was given raises that took her annual pay package to nearly 200,000 dollars when she was reassigned from the World Bank to the US State Department.
Riza remained on the World Bank payroll despite her move, which was to forestall any conflicts of interest after Wolfowitz, 63, took charge of the bank in June 2005.
"The executive directors will move expeditiously to reach a conclusion on possible actions to take," the board`s statement said.
"In their consideration of the matter, the executive directors will focus on all relevant governance implications for the bank."
Wolfowitz on Thursday apologized over the affair at the development lender which handles its 20 billion dollar-plus in loans each year around the world.
"I made a mistake, for which I am sorry," Wolfowitz told journalists.
"I will accept any remedies" proposed by the bank`s 24-member executive board, he added.
04/13/2007 14:48 GMT