[Kind of gives the lie to the spiel she's spouting that she's an innocent victim. Rather this latest revelation is part of a patten in which she's an active participant.]
http://www.whistleblower.org/content/press_detail.cfm?press_id=875
Riza Failed to Get Approval for Working at SAIC
April 6, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bea Edwards, International Director
Phone: 202.408.0034 ext 155, 202.841.1391
Email: beae at whistleblower.org
Contact: Dylan Blaylock, Communications Director
Phone: 202.408.0034 ext 137, 202.236.3733 (cell)
Email: dylanb at whistleblower.org
Riza Failed to Get Approval for Working at SAIC
Sources Claim Her Work at US Defense Contractor is a Gross Violation of
Bank Rules
(Washington, D.C.) - The Government Accountability Project (GAP) has
learned that Shaha Riza, long-time companion of World Bank President
Paul Wolfowitz and fellow Bank staffer, did not receive Bank approval
for outside employment as a consultant for a major U.S. defense
contractor during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
According to an article published in Vanity Fair last month, Riza was a
"subject matter expert" for the Middle East during the Iraq War run-up
at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a firm
focused on defense capabilities and intelligence gathering. At that
time, Paul Wolfowitz was the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Inside sources at the Bank have verified to GAP that Riza never applied
for nor received permission to provide these consultant services to
SAIC. This is a gross violation of World Bank staff rules, which
require Bank employees to clear extracurricular professional activities
with the Outside Interests Committee in order to prevent conflicts of
interest. Such undisclosed parallel employment, GAP sources say, would
never have been tolerated by the Bank and are grounds for dismissal.
"Considering that Riza was reportedly romantically involved with
Wolfowitz at the time, that the Iraq War was imminent, that SAIC was a
defense contractor, and that the World Bank had active projects in
Iraq, multiple conflicts of interest probably existed," said GAP
International Program Director Bea Edwards.
World Bank staffers work as international civil servants and are
expected to serve the interests of the institution rather any national
interest.
"International institutions, such as the World Bank and the United
Nations, depend on mutual trust," said Edwards, who interviewed World
Bank sources. "Member governments trust that employees work only to
serve the institution's mission and that of the international
community. A violation of that trust undermines the very foundation of
international cooperation."
Government Accountability Project
The Government Accountability Project is the nation's leading
whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower
cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, GAP's mission
is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate
accountability. Founded in 1977, GAP is a non-profit, non-partisan
advocacy organization with offices in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, WA.
Government Accountability Project o www.whistleblower.org
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