Brazil demands explanation over US spying on IMF

Brazil's director at the International Monetary Fund called an unscheduled meeting of the Fund's executive board Wednesday to discuss reports that the United States spied on the institution. "A meeting was held on my request... I wanted to have some explanations," Paulo Nogueira Batista told AFP. Nogueira Batista would not divulge what was said at the meeting, citing the directors' obligation to keep their discussions confidential. But the meeting was the first public sign from the institution of anger over reports that the US National Security Agency had extended its massive efforts to spy on both US rivals and allies to the IMF and the World Bank. According to news reports late last month, citing unnamed US officials, President Barack Obama ordered the NSA to end its electronic surveillance of the two global financiers. But the White House officially has not acknowledged that it spied on them. Nogueira Batista, whose government has directly protested to Washington over the NSA's purported tapping of the email of President Dilma Rousseff, said as the country's executive director at the IMF he had a right to call the unscheduled executive board meeting. He said that IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde did not attend the meeting. Both the IMF and the World Bank have refused to comment officially on the issue. "We are aware of the news report and have no comment to offer at this stage," an IMF spokeswoman told AFP Wednesday. Asked about the allegations of the US spying on the IMF, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki would only say that the government is reviewing its activities around the world to determine the "appropriate posture", including how the US coordinates with allies and partners. "Of course, as part of that effort, we are consulting with countries around the world, including Brazil. And our goal is, of course, to not only alleviate their concerns but to strengthen our intel-gathering relationship moving forward," she said.