Bank Pledges Decision Soon on Wolfowitz

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz appears at a news conference in Washington in this April 15, 2007, file photo. Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday, April 28, 2007, to staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite - AP)

WASHINGTON -- The World Bank's board expressed fresh concern Tuesday over bank president Paul Wolfowitz's handling of a hefty pay package for his girlfriend and promised a decision soon in a controversy that has led to calls for his resignation.

The 24-member board met several hours with a special bank panel that over the past two days had heard from Wolfowitz, his girlfriend and bank employee Shaha Riza and other present and former bank officials about Riza's promotion and pay raise to $193,590.

In a statement afterward, the directors said they "remain very concerned about the impact on the work of the bank group and are committed to the earliest possible resolution of the matter."

The board said the next step is for the special panel to "draw its conclusions from the information obtained from the documents and during the course of the interviews" and expeditiously submit a report to the directors.

Ultimately, the directors will decide what action should be taken, if any. The board could ask Wolfowitz to resign, signal it lacks confidence in his leadership, reprimand him or take no action. There might also be a compromise under which Wolfowitz would be found to have acted in good faith and he would resign later.

Earlier Tuesday, the special panel was told by the former chairman of the bank's ethics committee that his group wasn't consulted and didn't approve Riza's compensation package.

Ad Melkert, who was ethics chief when the arrangement was made but now works at the United Nations, said he rejects "any direct or indirect allegation or suggestion that the ethics committee was aware or should have been aware of the terms and conditions of Ms. Riza's contract."

Wolfowitz told the panel Monday that the bank's ethics committee had access to all the details surrounding the arrangement involving Riza "if they wanted it."

Melkert said the committee was not consulted, nor did it approve details of Riza's compensation package, including "the large initial pay increase, the stipulation for subsequent annual increases and the stipulations for subsequent promotions."

Laying out his defense on Monday, Wolfowitz pointed to a Feb. 28, 2006, letter by Melkert that Wolfowitz characterized as showing that the bank's ethics committee was aware of Riza's compensation arrangement because it referenced an anonymous whistle-blower's e-mail that complained about the size of her pay raise.

Melkert on Tuesday acknowledged that the anonymous e-mail "stated a salary figure but did not refer to other aspects of the terms and conditions in question."

Wolfowitz has led the bank _ whose mission is to fight global poverty _ for close to two years. Before he took over, he was the No. 2 official at the Pentagon, where he played a key role in mapping out the Iraq war.