A top-level World Bank ethics panel has ruled that bank president Paul Wolfowitz was guilty of conflict of interest for getting his girlfriend a substantial pay raise, the New York Times reported on its Web site.
The news came as the scandal entangling Wolfowitz claimed its first victim earlier in the day, when one of his senior aides resigned.
"Given the current environment surrounding the leadership of the World Bank Group, it is difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution," former Wolfowitz senior aide Kevin Kellems said.
According to the Times, the panel of seven of the bank's 24 board members has formally notified Wolfowitz, the former US deputy secretary of defense, of its findings, a move that is likely to add to the weeks of pressure on him to resign.
The committee continued to mull what punishment to recommend, the Times said late on Monday.
But it reported that most board members want Wolfowitz, whose management style and determination to uproot some of the bank's bureaucratic practices has upset many staff, to resign.
Last week, Wolfowitz rejected criticism that he oversaw an improper pay and promotion deal for his partner.
In a letter released on Thursday, he said he had acted within World Bank rules in requesting the pay hikes and promotions worth nearly US$200,000 for Shaha Riza, who also worked at the World Bank.
Bank managers are not allowed to supervise employees with whom they have a close relationship.
"It is grossly unfair and wrong to suggest that I intended to mislead anyone, and I urge the committee to reject the allegation that I lack credibility," Wolfowitz said in a letter to the investigatory panel.
The lingering controversy has threatened to hobble the bank's lending and development programs, as well as an anti-corruption campaign targeting borrowers.
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