Corruption Probe: Investigative Panel Declares AfDB’s Adesina Innocent

The leader of the African Bank of Development (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, who was accused of corruption has been exonerated by an independent panel of experts.

According to AFP, the panel, headed by former Irish President Mary Robinson, upheld the decision of the bank’s ethics committee that first investigated Adesina and declared him innocent.

Other members of the three-man panel are Gambia’s Chief Justice Hassan Jallow and the World Bank’s integrity vice president Leonard McCarthy.

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The panel concluded in the report obtained by AFP on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, that “the Panel concurs with the Committee in its findings in respect of all the allegations against the President and finds that they were properly considered and dismissed by the Committee”.

The United States had rejected the Committee’s report and demanded a fresh probe by an independent body, which necessitated the bank’s board to constitute the Robinson panel.

Earlier this year, a 15-page report had indicted the 60-year-old charismatic leader, claiming that the bank was marred by poor governance, impunity, personal enrichment and favouritism under his watch.

Some whistleblowers working in the bank were believed to be behind the allegations.

Adesina was elected into the position in 2015, becoming the first Nigerian to head the bank.