Klaus Schwab made World Economic Forum manipulate data to make Brexit look like a failure, India’s ranking was tampered with as well, internal investigation says

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World Economic Forum (WEF) apparently falsified research data to portray Brexit as a failure. Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, is accused of manipulating the landmark Global Competitiveness Report for political purposes, according to preliminary results of an investigation into him.

Countries were ranked based on their production and long-term prosperity in the annual publication which was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The probe was initiated after a whistleblower levelled allegations against Schwab regarding squandering funds, sending obscene emails to younger staff members and altering research. Some of the initial results were collected by the SonntagsZeitung newspaper in Switzerland from law firm Homburger which is looking into the matter.

Klaus Schwab resigned as chairman of the WEF after more than 50 years as a result of the grave charges. The non-profit WEF is well-known for its yearly assembly of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland. The 87-year-old served as the face of Davos conference for years.

Klaus Schwab manipulating research

A change in methodology caused the United Kingdom’s position to climb higher from seventh to fourth in the 2017/2018 edition. However, he warned employees that the country “must not see any improvement” as the Brexit camp would “exploit” it otherwise. Afterward, the UK had fallen one spot to eighth rank in the final report, which was released in 2017.

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The WEF at the time claimed that the Brexit decision had not affected the rankings, but argued that the move would likely make the UK far less competitive moving forward. “Brexit will by definition weaken the UK’s markets component as integration with the EU is rolled back,” the report asserted.

The challenging Brexit discussions had barely started at the time of the report. The United Kingdom had made the decision to exit the European Union, however, the details were still being figured out. The prospect of calling a second referendum to overturn the outcome of the 2016 vote was still being discussed.

Then-prime minister Theresa May delivered speeches at the January 2017 and 2018 Davos summits and declared that Britain was “looking with confidence” to the future after Brexit and intended to “build a truly Global Britain” centred on free trade.

According to official documents that SonntagsZeitung quoted, Schwab intervened several times to change or downplay unfavourable rankings for several nations, especially in the Middle East, North Africa and India to maintain diplomatic ties or prevent political repercussions. He once suggested postponing a negative piece after speaking with a government official about it.

Schwab reportedly made sure India didn’t fall 20 spots in the rating when the same report was being prepared. He wanted to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the meeting in the Swiss Alpine ski resort, which receives visits by nearly 60 world leaders annually.

Klaus Schwab wrote, “We must protect our relationship with India before Davos 2019.” India came in at number 40, just one position down from the year before.

More allegations and Schwab’s defence

Additionally, the investigation examined approximately £836,000 in expenses that Schwab and his spouse Hilde had reported and noted that the amount did not have sufficient ties to WEF activities. It also revealed that despite having no formal role with the WEF, his wife billed trips to the organisation.

Schwab is also accused of having “embarrassing interactions” with younger WEF employees and sending provocative emails. The investigation’s final findings have not yet been released. Meanwhile, Klaus Schwab has filed a criminal complaint against the whistleblowers and refuted the allegations.

After the preliminary results were leaked to SonntagsZeitung, he charged that the WEF board had violated a media restraint agreement related to the inquiry. Schwab that he had cooperated with the probe because neither side would remark publicly on it. “I feel deceived. I am not available for further investigations,” he expressed.

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