Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), has denied allegations of misconduct that were reportedly substantiated by a formal investigation. He accused the board of directors of breaching a confidentiality agreement regarding the matter.
“I am in a position to refute all allegations made against me,” Schwab stated in a Sunday press release responding to a report published by SonntagsZeitung. The Swiss newspaper claimed that preliminary findings from the Swiss law firm Homburger supported accusations that Schwab manipulated economic reports published by the forum and submitted unjustifiably high expense claims.
The investigation, commissioned by the WEF board, is examining several allegations against the 87-year-old, including claims that he used forum resources for personal purposes.
Schwab stated that he made himself available for an interview with Homburger on July 15 and was granted access to a draft of the report to respond to the accusations.
“In this regard, I feel deceived,” he said. “I am prepared to defend my interests with all my strength, even in the context of legal disputes.”
A WEF spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg on Sunday, stating the organization would issue a response once the investigation concludes, likely by late August.
The SonntagsZeitung report intensifies an ongoing dispute between Schwab and the WEF board and comes just weeks after both parties issued a joint statement claiming to work toward “normalizing” their relationship and resolving the conflict.
According to excerpts cited by the newspaper, Homburger’s investigation found that Schwab repeatedly intervened to influence the rankings of countries in the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report for political reasons.
In a 2017 email to then-managing director Richard Samans, Schwab allegedly requested that the report not be published to avoid straining relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country received a poor score in the ranking.
He also reportedly advised against improving the United Kingdom’s position to prevent the data from being used by Brexit supporters, according to the report.
The report was eventually published, with both the UK and India dropping one place each, to eighth and fortieth positions, respectively.
In another incident in 2022, Schwab allegedly shared a draft of the report with an official from a country whose ranking had declined and advised against its publication.
That year’s edition was ultimately not released, with the WEF citing uncertainty surrounding the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The investigation also looked into approximately 900,000 Swiss francs (US$1.12 million) in expenses submitted by Schwab and his wife, Hilde, which reportedly lacked sufficient connection to WEF activities, according to the newspaper.
The report increases pressure on Schwab, who abruptly stepped down in April following the emergence of misconduct allegations, triggering a formal investigation and internal conflict.