Paul Wolfowitz, who was President George W. Bush’s controversial choice last year to head the World Bank, told the bank’s board of directors last week that he intended to tackle serious corruption problems in an institution that in its last fiscal year committed more than $20bn in loans and grants to alleviate poverty in developing countries.

“By problems, I mean very precisely clear-cut cases of bribes, kickbacks, manipulation of the contracting process, fraudulent procurement,” he said in an interview.