World Bank staff told to give 'preferential treatment' to son of Trump official: leaked documents

12 April 2023

World Bank staffers were instructed to give "preferential treatment" to the son of David Malpass, the institution's current president, during his tenure as the Under Secretary of the United States Treasury for International Affairs in former President Donald Trump's administration, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

According to a leaked recording obtained exclusively by the outlet from a whistleblower, "a 2018 staff meeting suggests colleagues were encouraged by a senior manager to curry favor" to twenty-two-year-old Robert Malpass, whom employees called a "prince" and an "important little fellow" "who could go 'running to daddy' if things went wrong."

Additionally, "staff were apparently told Robert was the son of the undersecretary of the US Treasury, which had played a 'beneficial' role in helping the World Bank secure an endorsement for the multibillion-dollar capital injection," The Guardian noted.

The paper also pointed out that this may not have been the first instance in which a high-ranking official's family received special benefits.

"Remember we had a 'prince' before … that is a subject for happy hour," one individual said.

The Guardian added that "the World Bank said it could not confirm the contents of the recording, but added it was 'both false and absurd' to suggest that there was any connection between an entry-level hire and the multibillion-dollar capital increase."

Meanwhile, the whistleblower said that "the US, as the leading shareholder of the Wold Bank Group, is obligated to contribute to better corporate governance of the institution, but failed to do so. Special treatment destroys the morale of employees, especially among those in junior positions who suffer a lack of opportunities of advancement."

The Guardian's full article is available here.

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