Washington, April 14 (Reuters): The woman at the centre of a scandal that could force the resignation of World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz says she has been victimised and forced to take a transfer she never wanted in the first place.

Shaha Riza said she was surprised when told she had to take an outside assignment because of her relationship with Wolfowitz, according to a recent memo to a committee reviewing her promotion and salary increase, which has caused an uproar at the World Bank. “I would like to reiterate that I did not wish to leave the bank and I did not, and do not, expect any special considerations,” she said.

Riza, a former gender specialist and a senior communications officer in the bank’s West Asia department, said she hoped to return to the bank as soon as possible to continue her career.