In a letter to the International Monetary Fund Executive Board, Covington & Burling attorney Lanny Breuer raised concerns about alleged errors in the investigation report conducted by WilmerHale, a law firm hired by the World Bank's board to look into data irregularities in the "Doing Business" rankings. The WilmerHale report suggested that while Georgieva was World Bank CEO in 2017, she pressured staff to manipulate data to improve China's ranking while seeking support for a capital increase. Georgieva denies these claims. Breuer, a former US Justice Department official, brought forth these new allegations as Georgieva seeks support from the IMF board. The board interviewed both Georgieva and WilmerHale and will further discuss the issue on Friday. According to a source from the French Finance Ministry, France plans to support Georgieva at the upcoming board meeting. Georgieva denied the accusations of pressuring staff to alter data, calling them "outrageous and untrue," and claimed that some of her statements were taken out of context by WilmerHale. Her attorney, Breuer, stated that Georgieva has not been informed that she is under investigation or given a chance to review and respond to the report's findings, as outlined in Staff Rule 3.00 covering World Bank Office of Ethics and Business Conduct procedures. Georgieva publicly released a detailed statement to the board on Thursday. The report from WilmerHale stated that their investigation initially focused on board officials in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Board Officials, which is different from the staff rule mentioned by Breuer. The firm made it clear that they followed all World Bank rules during their investigation and informed Dr. Georgieva that their report would be presented to the World Bank Board. In an email from July, a partner at WilmerHale informed Georgieva that the review into irregularities in Doing Business data and staff misconduct was authorized by World Bank Staff Rule 3.00, as Georgieva, as World Bank CEO in 2017, was considered a member of staff rather than a board official. The email sent to Georgieva requested her to speak with investigators as they believed she may have information that could assist in their review, clarifying that she was not a subject of their investigation. The World Bank's General Counsel's office stated that the investigation into the Doing Business 2018 and 2020 reports was carried out in accordance with World Bank regulations.