Root out the £420m foreign aid fraudsters

Pakistan cash falling into wrong hands, report warns

BRITISH officials need to ‘step up’ efforts to ‘root out fraud and corruption’ in a scheme distributing £420million of aid money in Pakistan, a Whitehall report has warned.

The Mail revealed earlier this year how hundreds of thousands of families are receiving cash handouts thanks to UK taxpayers.

But now a review by the Department for International Development has said more must be done to stop the money falling into the wrong hands.

The report also raised concerns that many recipients are unable to use cash machines to collect their money and are taken advantage of by others who take a cut to help them.

Under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), households get 4,500 rupees (£34.50) every three months, mostly via a cashpoint card.

DfID’s annual review into the costly project admitted that it needs to do more work with the Pakistani government to tackle problems with the scheme.

It said: ‘BISP needs to keep on top of operational risks including its procedures for identifying, reporting and rooting out fraud and corruption.

‘DfID will need to step up engagement with the [Pakistani] ministry of finance and BISP’s leadership for monitoring and managing these risks.’

Spot checks carried out on behalf of DfID by the consultancy firm Mott MacDonald found that nearly a fifth of those receiving the handouts were paying fees for help withdrawing the money.

The report said: ‘The findings have highlighted a number of issues such as the inability of female beneficiaries to use the debit card, loss of passcodes, overcrowding at the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), lack of responsiveness from the staff of commercial banks, and multiple visits to withdraw cash. There is a lot of space for improving convenience with which beneficiaries can withdraw their payment.’

It added: ‘The low literacy level of the beneficiaries is a major

From yesterday’s Mail challenge that restricts them from operating technology such as ATMs on their own. These issues suggest there is further space for improving efficiency.’

Officials in Pakistan are currently testing a biometric verification system, which will use fingerprint recognition to make sure people collect their money in person so they are not ripped off by agents or fraudsters.

‘The introduction of biometrics will address concerns about self-withdrawal and payments to agents,’ the report said.

The Mail revealed yesterday that Commons Speaker John Bercow is throwing a dinner to honour the Pakistani politician in charge of the scheme, even though British taxpayers’ money is footing part of the bill for the handouts.

Marvi Memon, chairman of the BISP, will become the inaugural recipient of the Speaker’s Democracy Award at the taxpayer-funded event in the State Rooms of Speaker’s House on September 5.

A DfID spokesman said: ‘ We constantly review our programmes to ensure they are delivering value for money for the taxpayer, and this programme is no different.

‘The programme has achieved a reduction in malnutrition in girls and a 10 per cent increase in children enrolling in school.’

Bercow hosts dinner for Pakistani MP who runs aid scheme hit by fraud (and you pay!)