Probe Substantiates Allegations Against WEF's Schwab, SZ Reports
According to excerpts seen by the newspaper, law firm Homburger found that Schwab repeatedly intervened to influence country rankings in the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report for political purposes, the newspaper reported, citing excerpts it had seen. In one 2017 email to then-managing director Richard Samans, Schwab allegedly requested that the report be withheld to avoid straining his relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, due to the country's poor performance in the ranking, SonntagsZeitung said. Schwab also advised against improving the UK's place to prevent it being exploited by the supporters of Brexit, the newspaper said.
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World Economic Forum Probe of Klaus Schwab Finds Unauthorized Spending, Inappropriate Behavior
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Schwab, who is 87 years old, stepped down over Easter weekend and no longer has a role with the Forum. He has pushed back aggressively against the allegations threatening his legacy that saw him share the stage for decades with the world's most powerful business and political leaders. Investigators told Forum trustees that their interviews found Schwab treated the organization like his 'fiefdom,' routinely condoning harassment and discrimination and resorting to intimidation and fear to get what he wanted. There was little oversight by the Forum or trustees of the questionable travel and other expenses, they said. Schwab and his wife, Hilde Schwab, filed more than $1.1 million in travel expenses that investigators have flagged as questionable. Much of that paid for first-class flights for Hilde Schwab to accompany her husband on Forum-related trips where she had no formal role, according to the preliminary findings. 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