New Zealand was a founding member of the AIIB, with then-Finance Minister Bill English signing up to it at a ceremony in Beijing in 2015. Photo: AFP
The government will look into "serious allegations" the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - of which New Zealand is a member - has become dominated by the Chinese Communist Party.
Reuters reports the bank's global communications director has resigned over the bank's "toxic culture," and accused it of being "dominated by Communist Party" members.
Bob Pickard, a Canadian citizen, said he did not believe the bank served Canada's interests. Canada has now frozen ties with the bank while it investigates Pickard's allegations.
The bank disputed the allegations, saying they were "baseless and disappointing".
New Zealand was a founding member of the AIIB, with then-Finance Minister Bill English signing up to it at a ceremony in Beijing in 2015.
The multilateral AIIB was established as an alternative to the World Bank. While China is the largest shareholder, the bank is made up of 106 member states.
In a statement, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said they were "serious allegations that we will look into".
"New Zealand has been a member of the bank since 2015. The advice I have been given is that while China is the largest shareholder, AIIB is regarded as a genuinely multilateral institution."
