BEIJING (Reuters) – The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said it would cooperate with a Canadian government probe triggered by a senior employee’s resignation in protest over what he alleged was Chinese Communist Party influence.
Bob Pickard, a Canadian national and former global communications chief for the AIIB, announced his resignation in a scathing social media post on Wednesday. Hours later, Ottawa said it was freezing ties with the bank while it probed the allegations.
In response, the bank said it “welcomes” Ottawa’s review into what it called “baseless” allegations by Pickard, and would be conducting its own internal review into the circumstances surrounding Pickard’s resignation, led by the bank’s General Counsel Alberto Ninio.
“We welcome this review and will be cooperating fully,” vice president Ludger Schuknecht was quoted as saying in a press release published on the bank’s website on Thursday. “Transparency is essential to the trust of our 106 Members, our multilateral peers, our development partners, our community of civil society organizations, and the citizens we serve.”
China’s foreign ministry on Thursday said the AIIB adhered to “principles of openness, meritocracy and transparency” when recruiting and managing staff, while China’s embassy in Canada called Pickard’s statements “lies”.
Pickard told Reuters he was advised to flee the country for his safety soon after resigning on Monday, without elaborating on who gave him this advice.
When asked by Reuters about Pickard’s remarks, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said: “The safety and security of Canadians remains a priority for the Government of Canada.”
Established by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 as a Chinese alternative to the World Bank and other Western-led multilateral lending institutions, AIIB has 106 members worldwide, including Canada, and says it is an “apolitical” lender.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
