Audit reveals fraud and forgery of funds by Dhuvaafaru Council

The Audit Office has found that money owed to individuals who provided goods and services to the Dhuvaafaru Council was forged and deposited into other people's accounts.

According to the audit report released yesterday, the Dhuvaafaru Council forged documents and transferred a total of MVR 99,338 to accounts that had no connection to the intended recipients.

The funds were originally owed to suppliers of goods and services to the Dhuvaafaru Council. However, the money was instead transferred to unrelated accounts, and the rightful recipients remained unpaid even at the time the audit was conducted.

The report states that MVR 35,520 was recovered from the fraudulent payments, while MVR 63,818 remained outstanding when the audit was completed.

In addition, the audit found that MVR 30,265 was spent by forging the signature of the officer responsible for authorizing the purchase of goods. The Dhuvaafaru Council informed the audit that the employees involved in the fraud have been dismissed and the matter has been referred to the Atoll Council.

The audit, conducted on the Dhuvaafaru Council’s 2023 budget, revealed several other irregularities, including leasing land without formal agreements.

Similar misconduct by the council was also uncovered in 2022. According to a report compiled by the Local Government Authority (LGA), Dhuvaafaru Council members were found depositing millions of rufiyaa into their own accounts during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Although the case was investigated and sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution, former Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem decided not to press charges against the councilors, opting instead to issue a covenant of advice.