Michel Kazatchkine, who helped establish the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and served five years as its executive director, stepped down Tuesday, two months after the organization reduced his leadership role, says The New York Times.

The nonprofit disease fund, which receives financial backing from governments and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been rocked by reports that it lost millions of dollars to corruption in the countries where it operates. The scandal and the lingering global downturn have dampened fundraising and recently prompted the agency to suspend new grants.

In November the fund’s board voted to turn over day-to-day oversight to a general manager, effectively reducing Dr. Kazatchine’s role to advocacy and fundraising. “He felt there wasn’t room at the top for two people and the best thing he should do is step aside,” said Jon Lidén, a spokesman for the organization.

Gabriel Jaramillo, a retired Brazilian bank executive who served on a panel that examined the fund’s accounting controls and proposed the reorganization, was appointed Tuesday to the new management post.