Amid Scandal, IMF Exec Wins Praise for Nimble Work

Even as he faces a probe for misconduct, the head of the International Monetary Fund is being praised for a decisive response to the world financial crisis, Bloomberg reports. Europe’s chief banker says he’s “convinced the investigation will prove that Dominique Strauss-Kahn didn’t abuse power.” Strauss-Kahn, 59, has streamlined the fund’s process for loans to strapped countries, with Iceland and Hungary among the needy.

Strauss-Kahn has been “extremely active” in implementing the emergency measures, one former IMF official said. The probe focuses on a relationship with a former IMF employee, and whether favors or harassment were involved in her departure. Strauss-Kahn denies wrongdoing. “The last thing they need now is to have a void of leadership,” an analyst said. (More financial crisis stories.)