By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- The Canadian government has decided to cut ties with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as they examine allegations of significant interference from the Chinese government within the institution.
"All government-led activity at the bank will be halted immediately," Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced during a press conference on Wednesday in Ottawa. "I have directed the Department of Finance to conduct an immediate review of these claims and assess Canada's involvement with AIIB."
Freeland made the announcement shortly after Bob Pickard, a Canadian who held the position as global head of communications for AIIB, resigned.
The bank said the allegations were “categorically false” in a statement and said “no one state or political party has any say over the strategic or operational direction of the bank.”
The Beijing-based bank was founded in 2016 with an objective to "invest in sustainable infrastructure across Asia and beyond", according to its official website.
Canada submitted an application to join AIIB later in 2016, and formally became part of the institution two years later, at a Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's was in power. Canada's participation with the Bank has long been a source of contention for opposition Conservatives, who have long demanded Ottawa exit the bank, calling the Bank a tool that Beijing to export authoritarianism throughout the Asia-Pacific region.