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SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 30 – Before the International Monetary Fund's February 13 embargoed briefing, Inner City Press asked the IMF to confirm or deny something in the crypto-currency media, that "IMF ADVISES EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES TO TRIAL DIGITAL CURRENCY." See below.

 On April 21 amid the Coronavirus crisis on Sao Tome the IMF announced, "the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a disbursement of SDR 9.028 million (about US$12.29 million or 61 percent of its SDR quota) for São Tomé and Príncipe under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF)."

 Now on June 30, this: "A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Xiangming Li, held a virtual mission during June 15 – June 30, 2020 for the first review of São Tomé and Príncipe’s economic program supported by the IMF ECF arrangement. 1 At the end of the mission, Ms. Li issued the following statement: “The IMF team and the authorities of São Tomé and Príncipe reached a staff level agreement on measures for the completion of the first review under the ECF arrangement and augmentation of the program subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. The IMF Executive Board is tentatively scheduled to consider this first ECF review in late July 2020. “The authorities of São Tomé and Príncipe have developed an appropriate plan to address the COVID-19 crisis. They have worked with international development partners to contain the local outbreak and provided assistance to vulnerable households, laid-off workers and businesses. A small solidarity contribution was collected from workers who were relatively unaffected to help finance the costs." This as there is still no disclosure of the San Tome and other business of  Pedro Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira Guterres, the son of Antonio Guterres whose UN is now spreading COVID-19 in South Sudan with a UN bus with no social distancing.

 But the UN has refused to answer this: "immediately confirm or deny this is SG Guterres' son Pedro - important to note any conflicts of interest, here." No answer - "there is a Pedro Guterres who is listed as the Chief Financial Officer, Mota-Engil Africa BV - a company engaged in discrimination of Malawi, here.

  Before publishing this story, Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, Dujarric, Fleming and others to confirm or deny - that is, to Verify - that this Pedro is Guterres' son. Inner City Press asked them: "immediately confirm or deny this is SG Guterres' son Pedro - important to note any conflicts of interest, here."

   No answer at all - even as Fleming takes money from IKEA and Pierre Omidyar's Luminate for "Share Verified" to supposedly expand transparency and help independent media. Just as no answers on the UN sexploitation Inner City Press first exposed on June 23, here."

   On April 15 to the IMF and World Bank's Annual Meetings Inner City Press posed these questions, after it got an IMF answer on Morocco, here: "On the IMF's CCRT debt service relief, please explain why Tanzania is not among the 19 African countries on the list. Also, please comment on public reports Kenya is not on because over-income, and the Zambia is off due to "corruption" issues. What about Cameroon's Paul Biya, not seen in public for weeks? Does the IMF have a view on how countries should address their prison systems as the Coronavirus spreads in them?"

  The Director of the IMF's Africa Department Abebe Aemro Selassie replied, diplomatically as ever, that thirty two countries have made requests, and that the IMF envisions $11.5 billion, with an initial focus on the poorest 25 or so, more if more money comes in, citing the UK and Japan and the IMF's speed on Madagascar. More to follow.

  The other issues were not addressed, nor have some of Inner City Press' other pending questions been answered. But we remain hopeful.

 For now, the IMF has said, "the countries that will receive debt service relief today are: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen."

Inner City Press covers not only the IMF but also all things crypto in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for example SEC v. Telegram and the prosecution of Virgil Griffith formerly of Ethereum.   Inner City Press asked the IMF, "It is reported that to the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, the IMF suggests to experiment with a common digital currency, on a blockchain. Can you elaborate?"  

 While IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice during the briefing answered Inner City Press' Somalia and Egypt questions, it was afterward that this answer arrived by e-mail, "attributable to Gerry Rice, IMF Spokesman and Director of Communications:    

'The IMF did not suggest to experiment with a common digital currency. In March 2019, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) launched a central bank digital currency pilot project, using blockchain technology, on its own initiative.

  As noted in the IMF Concluding Statement of the 2019 discussion on the common policies of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) member countries, the digital currency could expose the ECCB and the financial system to various risks, including for financial intermediation, financial integrity, and cybersecurity. Given these risks of the digital currency, the IMF stressed that the ongoing pilot project should proceed cautiously.”   

So there. (A OneCoin / Bulgaria question remains outstanding). We appreciate the IMF's answer. Watch this site, for IMF news and... all things crypto, good, bad and ugly.

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