Monday, August 27, 2007

Open Letter to Ms. Suzanne Folsom

29th August 2007

Ms. Suzanne Folsom, Director

Department of Institutional Integrity (INT)

The World Bank

1818 H Street NW, MC8-754

Washington, DC 20433

Re: The case of Mr. Bruce Tasker

Dear Ms. Folsom,

It is now exactly six months since the Government Accountability Project (GAP) submitted a Demand Letter on my behalf to your office, requesting your prompt response to the matter and looking forward to hearing from you within ten business days. GAP informs me that through the past six months, its senior staffs have contacted your office on a number of occasions, and although they have been informed that the INT apparently intends to carry out a full investigation into the allegations, no formal reply has been received.

It is four months since Her Majesty’s Ambassador of the British Embassy in Armenia sent a letter to you personally, explaining that, as the INT has been aware of this matter since June 2004, and the details are comprehensively documented, he hoped that your enquiries could be concluded expeditiously in order to bring the matter to a timely and appropriate conclusion.

You are also aware that details of the allegations have been forwarded to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the matter is being monitored by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. In that respect, a senior official of the British Embassy in Washington has contacted the INT on more than one occasion to enquire about how your department is proceeding with the matter. The UK representation at the World Bank in Washington has also been asked to make enquiries into the matter, and the British Ambassador has recently sent a second letter, in which he repeats that request. But there has been no response.

The UK is a major contributor to the World Bank, and the British Government is of course keen to know that its funds are being used effectively.

Today, six months after the submission of GAP’s Demand Letter to your office, the INT has made no formal commitment to carry out the investigation that has been requested, and so GAP sent a letter asking for the latest status with the claim.

This open letter is a personal request, that you please advise how and when the Department of Institutional Integrity will be carrying out a full investigation, in response to the Demand Letter submitted on my behalf to your office, 29th March this year.


Yours Sincerely,

Bruce Tasker

Senior Specialist and Analyst

Armenian Parliamentary Commission

Full details about the claim can be seen on

'Blowing the World Bank Whistle'


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