Former Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler abruptly resigned in August due to an internal ethics investigation linked to alleged improper stock trades, according to a new government watchdog report. Fed Chair Jerome Powell denied Kugler’s request for a waiver from the central bank’s ethics rules. Kugler raised eyebrows when she missed a policy meeting in July.

Kugler, a Biden appointee, joined the central bank in 2023 and served as the U.S. Executive Director of the World Bank. Her surprise resignation in August was followed by the appointment of Stephen Miran to replace her until January. Miran has advocated for rapid interest-rate cuts since joining the Fed.

A report from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics revealed that Kugler faced a probe by the Fed’s internal watchdog related to her financial disclosures. The report showed that Fed ethics officials declined to certify Kugler’s latest disclosures. Kugler, now a professor at Georgetown University, declined to comment on the matter.

Kugler acknowledged violating Fed investment and trading rules in 2024 when her husband made purchases of individual stocks without her knowledge. Powell introduced tougher restrictions on investing and trading for Fed policymakers in 2022, following revelations of unusual trading activity by senior officials in 2020. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan retired early after similar revelations.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Ex-Fed official faced ethics probe on illegal stock trades