In a letter to the International Monetary Fund Executive Board that was released on Thursday, attorney Lanny Breuer from Covington & Burling raised concerns about potential errors in the investigation report conducted by WilmerHale. This law firm was hired by the World Bank's board to look into data irregularities in the "Doing Business" rankings. The report suggested that while Georgieva was CEO of the World Bank in 2017, she exerted pressure on staff to manipulate data in favor of China during a time when the bank was seeking support from Beijing. Georgieva has refuted these allegations. Breuer, a former US Justice Department official who served as special counsel to former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial in 1999, has made these claims as Georgieva seeks support from the IMF board. The board recently interviewed both Georgieva and WilmerHale and will discuss the matter further on Friday. France has announced its plan to support Georgieva at the upcoming board meeting, according to a source from the French Finance Ministry. Georgieva has denied the accusations of pressuring staff to manipulate data, calling them "outrageous and untrue," and stating that her statements were taken out of context by WilmerHale. She released a detailed statement to the board on Thursday. Her attorney, Breuer, emphasized that Georgieva has not been informed that she is under investigation or given the opportunity 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. The WilmerHale report 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 confirmed that they followed all relevant World Bank rules and informed Dr. Georgieva that their report would be presented to the World Bank Board, with the possibility of disclosing any information she provided. According to an email sent in July from WilmerHale to Georgieva, the firm was conducting a review into irregularities in Doing Business data and staff misconduct as authorized by World Bank Staff Rule 3.00. In 2017, when Georgieva was the World Bank CEO, she was considered a member of staff, not a board official. The email to Georgieva requested her to speak with investigators because they believe she may have information that could assist with their review, emphasizing that she is not the 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.