In his first 15 months as president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz has made the fight against corruption in poor countries a hallmark issue, waging an aggressive campaign that has led to the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and contracts to countries including India, Chad, Kenya, Congo, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
In recent months, however, Wolfowitz's drive has run into a flood of criticism within the bank and among financial officials in Europe and in poor countries. These officials charge that countries are being threatened with arbitrary punishment in a way that jeopardizes the bank's historic mission to reduce poverty.
Few at the World Bank dispute that corruption is a problem, but the rift over Wolfowitz's approach has grown deep and bitter, according to more than a dozen bank officials recently interviewed.
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