World Bank Staff Manipulated Global Business Rankings“”Boosting Saudi Arabia, China“”Internal Audit Finds

World Bank Staff Manipulated Global Business Rankings“”Boosting Saudi Arabia, China“”Internal Audit Finds

Topline

World Bank staff members were pressured by managers into manipulating data for the bank's annual ranking of business-friendly countries, an internal audit found Friday, resulting in higher rankings for China and Saudi Arabia.

World Bank Group President David Malpass speaks during a joint press conference with IMF Managing ... [+] Director Kristalina Georgieva on the recent developments of the coronavirus, COVID-19, and the organizations' responses on March 4, 2020 in Washington, DC.



Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Key Facts





The World Bank's Doing Business report measures the overall business environment in countries around the world, and may be used to attract foreign investment.





The audit found staff members felt both “indirect and direct” pressure to manipulate data in the report and feared retaliation if they reported instances when managers overrode controls meant to ensure data integrity.







The World Bank said Saudi Arabia should not have been named a “top improving economy” in the 2020 report, with its ranking falling from 62 to 63 factoring in the correct data.