Camila Zapata Besso successful in international disciplinary case of alleged misconduct brought by the Inter-American Development Bank

Camila Zapata Besso of Doughty Street Chambers and her leader, Alex Haines (of Outer Temple Chambers), have successfully represented an individual in an international disciplinary case of alleged misconduct brought by the Ethics Office of the Inter-American Development Bank (‘IADB’). The IADB, which was established in 1959 and is headquartered in Washington DC, is an International Financial Institution and the leading source of ‘development’ financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, which includes lending to governments and government agencies, including state corporations. Most of the documentation in this disciplinary case was in Spanish.

The mandate of the IADB’s Office of Institutional Integrity is limited to investigating external parties only.  For former Bank staff members (such as the client in this case), however, the Ethics Office has jurisdiction to investigate and bring cases of alleged misconduct.  Two and a half years after he was originally interviewed by the IADB’s Office of Institutional Integrity and the Ethics Office, and following detailed written representations made by Alex and Camila earlier this summer, the IADB’s Chief Ethics Officer reviewed the Investigation Report and determined that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of the following heads of allegation: conflict of interest, financial conflict, subsequent employment, procurement and contracting, corruption as a source of conflict, disclosure of conflict of interest and appropriate use of information.  All of the complaints were dismissed.