Canada’s Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, entered damage control mode after a Canadian announced he’s resigning from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), alleging it’s a Chinese Communist Party “cesspool.” 

Canada is a member country of AIIB, and Freeland sits on the bank’s Board of Governors.

On Wednesday, Bob Pickard said he resigned from his role as global communications director for AIIB, saying the bank is “dominated by the Communist Party.” 

“I have tendered my resignation as the global comms chief of @AIIB_Official. As a patriotic Canadian, this was my only course,” Pickard said.

He added, “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.”

Pickard further said he’s “Happy to be gone from that cesspool” and “The Communist Party hacks hold the cards at the Bank.”

Pickard also said board members serve as “useful idiots.” 

“I believe that my Government should not be a member of this PRC instrument. The reality of power in the bank is that it’s CCP from start to finish,” he tweeted.

The Liberal Finance Minister Freeland subsequently announced that she was halting Canada’s membership with the bank pending an investigation into the allegations.

The AIIB opened for business in 2016, and the Trudeau government applied for membership almost immediately, in September that year. In 2018, Canada was accepted and joined the AIIB. 

By 2021, the bank had 102 approved member countries and a triple-A credit rating.

On Wednesday, the AIIB said Pickard’s comments were false and “disappointing.” 

This story is breaking and will be updated.