Paul Wolfowitz told a special panel that he's a victim of a "smear campaign" and reiterated his decision not to resign.

The embattled president of the World Bank faced the panel on Monday to defend his assistance in helping a girlfriend land a high-paying job.

"I, for one, would not give in to such tactics," he said in a statement, which was prepared in advance and made public. "And, I will not resign in the face of a plainly bogus charge of conflict of interest."

"Only when the cloud of these unfair and untrue charges is removed, will it truly be possible to determine objectively whether I can be an effective leader of the World Bank," he said.

Wolfowitz said he regretted the "tumult" the controversy had caused the bank, but added: "To criticize me when I did nothing other than attempt in good faith to follow the guidance of the ethics committee would be unwarranted and grossly unfair."

"Moreover, it would be harmful to the institution," he added.

The investigation of the panel, made up of representatives of the bank's board of member countries, will decide whether Wolfowitz has been too discredited to stay on the job. Its verdict is expected to be clear later in the week.

The panel was appointed by the World Bank's board of shareholder nations earlier in the month with the determination to force Wolfowitz out.

More recent reports, however, said there is talk at the bank of avoiding a confrontation by having Wolfowitz resign in return for a reprimand that acknowledges that he acted in good faith at the time and that ethics officials at the bank had approved of his actions when they examined them in 2005 and 2006.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz faced calls to resign in the middle of April after admitting he arranged for his girlfriend a promotion and raise.

Wolfowitz's girlfriend, Libyan-born Shaha Riza, was moved to the state department on secondment when he took the World Bank's top job in 2005, but her salary was still paid by the Bank.

Wolfowitz apologized for what he called a mistake, but failed to ease concerns among the staff of the bank.

Pressure on him to quit grew last week after World Bank staff expressed concerns that their credibility is eroding amidst the crisis surrounding the president.

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