Wolfowitz and his high paid girlfriend to address World Bank panel Monday

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Wolfowitz_Riza_to_address_World_Bank_panel_Monday.html?siteSect=143&sid=7764501&cKey=1177736857000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and his bank-employed girlfriend will appear before a special panel on Monday to discuss a promotion and raise he arranged for her that has sparked calls for his resignation.

"He will be appearing on Monday morning and making a full presentation to the committee, showing them that there is absolutely no merit at all in the allegation that there was a conflict of interest," Wolfowitz's lawyer, Robert Bennett, told Reuters.

Bennett will be present but will not be allowed to address the committee, which was appointed by the World Bank's board of shareholder nations last week to look into whether Wolfowitz breached ethical or other rules by approving a promotion for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza.

Bennett said he was notified by Victoria Toensing, a lawyer for Riza, that her client would also address the committee. Toensing could not be reached for comment.