AIIB will introduce anti-graft safeguards

Bank's chief vows 'zero tolerance' to prevent corruption at new institution

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will set up an ethics integrity department and encourage employees to reports by stamp out corruption, said Jin Liqun, president-designate of the institution.

Jin Liqun, president-designate of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

The bank will launch its first projects in the second quarter of next year, Jin said, adding that projects will focus on electricity, transportation and water supply, as these are in high demand.

Jin vowed to take a "zero tolerance" approach to corruption in the AIIB at a conference organized by the Boao Forum for Asia in London on Monday.

"In the future we will set up an ethics integrity department to inspect corruption," Jin said, adding that the leader of the department must have a good reputation.

"In order to avoid any conflict of interest, we cannot have a Chinese be the leader of the integrity department when the bank president is a Chinese. It does not mean that Chinese officials are not good enough to be in this position, but we need to avoid skepticism."

Jin said that the president cannot fire the leader of the integrity department without providing the board with concrete justification. This is to avoid the president having absolute power; otherwise the leader of the integrity department will not to report improper behavior by the president, Jin said.

Also, employees will be encouraged to report corrupt behavior in the bank, Jin said, adding that once such an infringement is confirmed, the person responsible for it would be disciplined.

The AIIB was proposed by China two years ago and is due to launch by the year's end.

As a former Chinese vice-minister of finance and veteran of development banks such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, Jin was named the inaugural president in August.

The AIIB will be built into a new type of development bank with first-class standards, Jin said. However, he said that "the best international standard" does not equal Western standards.

Taiwan's entry into AIIB was "a domestic affair", Jin said, adding that "family members" can discuss it, and it doesn't require intervention from others.