Press Release No. 08/257

Press Release: Statement by IMF Executive Board on Review of Managing Director's Conduct

October 25, 2008

The 24-member Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued the following statement today:

The IMF's Executive Board, under the chairmanship of A. Shakour Shaalan, the Dean of the Board, has today concluded its inquiry into allegations of improper conduct involving the Managing Director of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In reaching its conclusions, the Board reviewed the findings of an independent inquiry carried out by external counsel, as well as an analysis of the standards of conduct applicable under the contract of the Managing Director. The Board is satisfied that the inquiry has been conducted in a thorough, independent, and expeditious manner, and would like to express its appreciation to the external counsel for his careful and exhaustive effort.

In the interest of transparency, and following best practice on good governance, the Board has decided that both the external counsel's report and the background note on applicable standards of conduct under the Managing Director's contract should be made public.

Based on the facts established by the external counsel's report, and the advice provided by the General Counsel and the Ethics Officer regarding the applicable standards of conduct, the Board has concluded that there was no harassment, favoritism, or any other abuse of authority by the Managing Director.

Nevertheless, the Executive Board noted that the incident was regrettable and reflected a serious error of judgment on the part of the Managing Director, as he has acknowledged and for which he has apologized. The Executive Board stressed that the personal conduct of the Managing Director sets an important tone for the institution and, as such, must be beyond reproach at all times.

The Executive Board took note of the concluding observations by the external counsel with respect to best practices, and will take them into account in the work underway in the Fund to review the standards of conduct applicable to the Managing Director, the staff, and the members of the Executive Board.

The Board would like to thank all those who have cooperated with this inquiry. It considers that this matter is now closed, and looks forward to continuing to work with the Managing Director and staff on the daunting challenges facing the membership.

Report to IMF Executive Board by Outside Counsel

The Managing Director's Contract-Applicable Standards of Conduct