The annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund has closed in Washington. One sideline agreement to come out of that was the approval of Afghanistan's membership in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Meanwhile, the I-M-F Chief used a Sunday panel to talk about the body's efforts to crack down on corruption. CGTN's Toby Muse has more.

 

 At the closing of the IMF's annual general meeting in Washington, Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the international lender should be more involved in battling corruption.

 

CHRISTINE LAGARDE MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND We have solicited from the board that we be approved and authorized to look in to additional tools possibly, different ways of dealing with it. And that's precisely the exercise we have underway at the moment and my hope is that we are further encouraged to look into corruptions within our mandate and within our missions.

 

The IMF is pushing for regulatory reform in countries it lends money to. This would include streamlining the process of permits, fees and contracts for public works. Lagarde has also said that the IMF should help strengthen legal institutions to investigate and prosecute corruption. Transparency international, a global organization that tracks corruption, has urged the IMF to be even more aggressive in battling corruption. It wants the IMF to also rate countries' anti-money laundering initiatives.

 

TOBY MUSE WASHINGTON The IMF estimates that some two trillion dollars is lost each year through corrupt activity. But, here in Washington, Lagarde warned the harm of corruption extends well beyond stolen money. Unchecked, she said, corruption can weaken citizens' faith in their very systems of governance. Toby Muse, CGTN, Washington.