US development bank left without oversight after watchdog let go

The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the lending and investment arm of the U.S. government and a key foreign policy tool, has abruptly terminated the director of its Independent Accountability Mechanism (IAM), which handles complaints about environmental and social harm. The unexpected move leaves no staff in the congressionally mandated IAM office.

Mehrdad Nazari was the IAM’s first director and had been in the position since 2024. He was informed by DFC lawyers in January that his term would not be extended past the end of February, though he was eligible for a five-year extension.

Stephanie Amoako, policy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Accountability Council, said she was concerned the decision is a sign the DFC is pulling back on oversight of the projects it funds.

“[Nazari] really ramped up the accountability mechanism’s work,” she told Mongabay. “It’s concerning that his term was not renewed, and it calls into question DFC’s commitment to having this independent governance tool.”

Read the full article from Mongabay here.