WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank's board of directors on Friday reviewed the pay hikes and promotion given by bank President Paul Wolfowitz to his girlfriend Shaha Riza.

    In a statement released by the World Bank's 24 executive directors, the board said it found that Riza's promotion and salary increase was not reviewed by an ethics committee nor the board's chairman before it was approved.

    Wolfowitz had sent the bank's vice president a written memorandum directing him to reach an agreement with the staff member (Shaha Riza) and specifying in detail the terms and conditions, said the statement.

    However, "the executive directors noted that the group found that the ethics committee, including its chairman, had not been involved in the discussions with the concerned staff member. Neither did it find that the terms and conditions of the agreement had been commented on, reviewed or approved by the ethics committee, its chairman or the board," said the statement.

    The executive directors will move expeditiously to reach a conclusion on possible actions to take, it said.

    Wolfowitz on Thursday apologized for the promotion and pay rises for Shaha Riza, who, once a staff member in the bank, was removed to work with the U.S. State Department when Wolfowitz took over at the World Bank in 2005, to avoid any conflict of interest.

    While still on the World Bank payroll, Riza was rapidly promoted and ended up with a package of tax-free salary rising to about 193,000 dollars, more even than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax.