The statement did not refer to a high-profile investigation into him. Two people close to the investigation said it was the results of that investigation that led to the vote. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the internal workings of the IDB or the findings of the investigator’s report, which has not been made public.
One of the people said investigators had found evidence to conclude that Claver-Carone had a relationship with a staff member who reported directly to him and to whom he had given raises totaling more than 45% of base salary. in less than a year. Claver-Carone’s leadership of the organization also caused employees to fear retaliation from him, the person said.
Vice President Reina Irene Mejía Chacón will lead the organization until a new president is elected, the statement said.
The Biden administration appeared to welcome Claver-Carone’s ouster.
A Treasury Department spokesman said the United States “supports the removal of the IDB president.” The department said “Claver-Carone’s refusal to cooperate fully with the investigation, and its creation of a climate of fear of retaliation among staff and borrowing countries, has lost the confidence of staff and shareholders of the Bank and requires a change of direction”.
Claver-Carone previously criticized the nature of the investigation, saying in a statement to The Associated Press that the investigation “failed to meet the international standards of integrity that the IDB and the region strive to exemplify. “.
He added: “In clear and direct violation of the IDB’s ethics rules, neither I nor any other IDB staff had the opportunity to review the final investigation report, respond to conclusions or to correct any inaccuracies”.
In a statement after the vote, Claver-Carone also claimed without evidence that removing him from office would embolden China, the AP reported.
In June 2020, President Donald Trump announced the appointment of then-senior National Security Council official Claver-Carone, whom the Trump administration credits with boosting private sector investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. His election in September marked the first time the United States – by far the bank’s biggest donor – had held the top spot in the six-decade-old organization.
Defenders of Claver-Carone have described him as a reformer leading an organization long beleaguered by corruption. According to his biography on the IDB’s website, he led “a comprehensive reform of the Bank’s business model” and “oversaw a broad effort to improve operational efficiency, productivity and transparency in order to facilitate better results, better impact and better follow-up efficiency”.
Critics describe it differently. Investigators said there was evidence he had an affair with a National Security Council staffer, prompting an official to warn it posed a counterintelligence security risk, reported the AP. The Biden administration — which has sought to reaffirm America’s relationship with multinational organizations — had indicated it took the allegations against Claver-Carone seriously.
Michael Shifter, former president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, said Claver-Carone’s lack of high-level diplomatic expertise made him an unusual choice for the IDB role. “There was a fundamental question of how qualified he was, given his background,” Shifter said in an interview. “There was always a cloud, or at least a big question.”
