Former Lib Dem Scotland Secretary under pressure after employer accused of being 'dominated by communists'

Sir Danny Alexander works for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

A former Scotland Secretary is under pressure to defend his role at a bank that was labelled as being “dominated by communists”, sparking Canada to cut ties with the financial institution.

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was embroiled in controversy on Thursday after the bank’s global communications director resigned and said the institution was “dominated by the Communist party”.

Chinese president Xi Jinping set up the bank in 2016 as an alternative to the World Bank and other lending organisations, which work multilaterally, and claims to be an “apolitical” lender.

Sir Danny Alexander works for AIIB.

Former Liberal Democrat MP, Danny Alexander, who served as chief secretary to the Treasury and briefly served as Scotland secretary during the Cameron/Clegg coalition years, joined the bank in 2016, but the new comments have raised concerns.

On AIIB’s website, Mr Alexander’s role as vice-president of policy and strategy of the bank is described as driving “AIIB’s strategic direction, including its sectoral and country priorities, investment strategy and programming, and operating budget”.

It adds: “He oversees AIIB’s environmental and social policies, other operational policies and their implementation.”

The pressure on the former secretary of state comes as Bob Pickard, the company’s global communications director, took to social media to resign.

He said: “I have tendered my resignation as the global comms chief of @AIIB_Official. As a patriotic Canadian, this was my only course. The bank is dominated by Communist Party members and also has one of the most toxic cultures imaginable.

"I don’t believe that my country’s interests are served by its AIIB membership.”

Canada moved to freeze its ties with the bank, with finance minister Chrystia Freeland stating it would put its links on hold while it investigated the allegations.

She said: “The government of Canada will immediately halt all government-led activity at the bank. And I have instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of the allegations raised and of Canada’s involvement in the AIIB.”

The AIIB, speaking to Reuters, labelled the criticisms “baseless and disappointing”, adding “throughout this time, the bank has supported and empowered him [Mr Pickard] to perform his role”.

“We are proud of our multilateral mission and have a diverse international team,” the bank said.

The Chinese embassy in Ottowa said the claim AIIB was controlled by the Communist party of China was “nothing but a lie” and “pure sensational hype and outright lies”.

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “It appears Danny Alexander has some serious questions to answer following the resignation statement by the bank’s global head of communications.

“The allegations of interference in the bank by China’s oppressive Communist government demand a response from senior executives, of which the former Lib Dem MP is one.”

Welcoming the Canadian government’s review of AIIB, Sir Danny said: "Our bank is extremely diverse. Our staff consists of 65 different nationalities, and our global membership now stands at 106.

"Our bank is multilateral in spirit, character and practice. Our robust multilateral governance system and international leadership and staff ensures this.

"With a membership as diverse as AIIB's, a governance framework that incentives consensus building has been a cornerstone of our success to date and in the future."