Former Dutch Labour party (PvdA) leader Ad Melkert did nothing wrong when he advised World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz on how to deal with his girlfriend who also worked there, ANP reports on Tuesday.

The news agency says the World Bank committee set up to investigate the case clears Melkert, who was chairman of the bank’s ethics commission at the time, of any wrong-doing.
Wolfowitz is under investigation for arranging a job transfer and hefty pay rise for his girlfriend Shaha Riza who, under bank rules, was forced to leave her job there on his arrival. His personal involvement violated the conflict-of-interest rules, although Wolfowitz says he had the approval of the bank’s ethics commission for his actions.
The investigating committee has been looking into what advice Melkert gave Wolfowitz, and if he had encouraged him to become personally involved in Riza’s career move. Their conclusion is that this was not the case.
The committee’s final report went to the bank’s executive board on Monday, which will give its verdict on whether or not Wolfowitz can remain as president next week.