IMF director gets to keep job despite affair

WASHINGTON — The head of the International Monetary Fund will keep his job despite having an affair with a married subordinate, the agency's executive board concluded.

The IMF board issued a statement late Saturday saying that the actions of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn were "regrettable and reflected a serious error of judgment."

However, the 24-member board of directors decided that Strauss-Kahn's relationship with the former IMF employee was consensual and did not involve any type of sexual harassment, favoritism or any abuse of authority.

The board, which represents all 185 member-nations of the lending institution, reached its conclusions at the end of a daylong meeting at IMF headquarters in Washington.

In a statement, the board said that based on the findings of an outside law firm hired to investigate the matter and discussions Saturday with Strauss-Kahn, that they now consider the incident closed.

Shakour Shaalan, the dean of the executive board, told reporters during a conference call that the board believed that the incident would not harm Strauss-Kahn's effectiveness going forward.

An investigative report by the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius said the two IMF employees acknowledged that there was "consensual physical relationship of short duration in January 2008."

The report noted there was no evidence that Strauss-Kahn "arranged for or provided the female staff member with any work-related benefit for participating in the affair." It also found no evidence that Strauss-Kahn "threatened the female staff member in any way" to keep the affair confidential.

The IMF is expected to play a critical role in providing loans to countries harmed by the current global financial crisis.

The former employee with whom Strauss-Kahn had the affair has been identified as Piroska Nagy, now in London with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The incident involving Strauss-Kahn occurred 15 months after Paul Wolfowitz resigned as president of the World Bank amid controversy over a pay package for his girlfriend, a bank employee. The World Bank is a sister lending institution to the IMF.

In a statement released with the board's findings, Strauss-Kahn, who became the IMF's 10th managing director a year ago, called what he did a "serious error of judgment" but said he was grateful that the board had found that he had not abused his authority.

"I very much regret this incident, and I accept responsibility for it," Strauss-Kahn said in his statement. "I have apologized for it to the board, to the staff of the IMF and to my family. I would also like to reiterate my apology to the staff member concerned for the distress this process has caused."

Comments

[arvay]

The IMF is a harmful influence anyway, the record shows that nations that ignored its advice recovered faster from the last economic crisis that those who followed its edicts.

Their MO is simple: cut social services, starve out your poor, give big tax breaks to multinationals and you, the leaders, can rake off millions for your Swiss bank accounts.

The IMF rabble should be disbanded and its "executives" re-employed by Wal-Mart. In junior positions.

[jefflorida]

from your lips ...

[Novista]

Who said Puritanism is dead in America?

[XME]

Typical...men always get excused. If the roles had been reversed, a female would have been let go and shamed.

[Obama4Life]

I agree, but both should be shamed.

To me its not a man vs woman thing.

[XME]

Absolutely

[strangerinthenight]

Another bad apple. And what else is new this days ?

[Obama4Life]

If you can't even be honorable to your wife and family being dishonorable to others comes easy. His wife just wants money like most wives of politicians/business men anyway, they both sponge off each other like parasites. Reminds me of Hillary and Bill Clinton.

IMF is after all a corrupt organization anyway, ask those in Jamaica and other developing countries.

This guy should be in jail, not getting fired.

[FR]

What an offensive, simplistic piece of moral posturing. His wife is an accomplished writer and journalist who has worked extremely hard and earned enormous respect in France. You have no idea what she's going through right now. So can your snarky sanctimonious remarks about wives and money.

[Obama4Life]

Lol, she can divorce him. It's simple really, he deserves to lose half his assets (Although it wouldn't surprise me if he had a prenup). What you a gold digger to? :o j/k lol

I wasn't trying to be offensive, I just don't understand why someone would stay with an IMF dirt bag (especially after he cheated on them) unless they to are also dirt bag. She is just like Elizabeth Edwards, total fools. I'm a Dem, but I didn't cut Edwards any slack, he is the epitome of a phony politician.

Maybe you should read up on the real IMF before you talk trash. :)

[GerryS]

come on, this ain't a story. in europe if you don't have a mistress or a boy toy, it's cuz you are d e a d.

everybody does it--- husbands and wives.

ps they are even tolerant of the g,l&tg types too. so GOPhers, don't go there on vacation, you might see something unpleasant

[Obama4Life]

"everybody does it--- husbands and wives"

Actually that is false.

[bail me out]

this wan*ker had extra-marital s*ex and he is getting lots of free publicity. wow.

[bail me out]

The wives are to blame because they sometimes shut off everything.

[anghiari]

What is it about some men and a piece of free....? jeez, do these men never grow up...never get to a point of been there done that? This behavior and arrogance is beyond my comprehension...

[AnalyzeIT]

Couldn't agree more.

[dezzertguy]

Well, I guess he was not an American or associated with the Bush Administration. The World Bank had a kangroo court and got rid of Wolfowitz. Double standard? Probably. Or the World Bank is more ethcial than the IMF. Maybe they are more like the Clinton Administration.

[FR]

Wolfowitz had to resign (kicking and screaming all the way) because he used his influence to bundle money and job perks to his girlfriend, not because he had an affair. DSK had an affair and the person involved got no perks, jobs, or influence in return. I guess if you wish to obsess over the morality of extra-marital sex, you don't see the difference. They both had affairs (shocking, shocking) but only one abused his authority and his position. Voilà.

[jefflorida]

sex with a subordinate, especially secret sex with a subordinate is suspicious on the face of it. it has nothing to do with puritanism and everything to do with good management and the appearance of even-handedness. the bush administration is notorious world wide for a cronyism that sets the bar for the advanced world (though japan offers a challenge).

[avraamjack]

.
What, no hysterical witch hunt and public lynching?
.
HOW UNAMERICAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.

[messy]

He's French, after all.

Bring Back Wolfowitz!!!!

[bannorhill]

President Clinton got to keep his job after the same thing.

[truthynesslover]

p.s. as long as its consentual!

[truthynesslover]

If hes doing a decent job he can "have an affair"with a goat for all i care.

[messy]

French President Mitterand's wife invited his illegitimate children to join in th funeral procession.

[DMcD]

There is "no such thing" as an "illegitimate" child --- a child is a child, plain and simple.
Come in from the dark ages.

[francoise]

He's too powerful and wealthy to have it off with a goat.

Goats are for caught-in-the-recession Joe's and Jane's like us ;-)

[francoise]

How much money was wasted running these investigations and discussions on such an UNinteresting topic ?