NPC refers Rs. 4m fraud case to FCID

The Committee report said some tender application forms sent by other companies had been doctored and figures changed in a bid to show that the prices quoted by the dummy company were the lowest.

The Northern Provincial Council has referred to the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) an internal probe on alleged misappropriation of development funds by a project engineer, Council Chairman C.V.K. Sivagnanam said.

He told the Sunday Times that after a three-member committee which probed the allegations submitted its report, the council took a unanimous decision to refer the case to the FCID.

He said the main suspects, who had reportedly gone into hiding, had misappropriated more than Rs. 4 million from the funds allocated to the North East Local Services Improvement Project (NELSIP), which supports development programmes at local council level.

The probe committee comprising provincial councillors in its report alleged that the project engineer had set up a company registered under the name of a relative to obtain contracts and tenders.

The committee found that the engineer had allegedly promoted the dummy company when the Bid Opening Committee and the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) decided on tenders. He had even met TEC members.

The Committee report said some tender application forms sent by other companies had been doctored and figures changed in a bid to show that the prices quoted by the dummy company were the lowest. They also found the TEC had been sent completed tender application forms of the Valvettithurai Municipal Council without the official seal. The report recommends legal action against the engineer and at least ten officials, some of who are serving in divisional secretariats.

The committee found that in one instance Rs. 165,000 had been paid to the company for the construction of a tube well and the installation of a submersible pump though the minimum quoted for the contract was Rs. 45,000.

The report said Rs. 2,693,817 allocated to the Point Pedro Divisional Secretariat was misappropriated by the engineer through corrupt methods and with the support of certain officials and there was also evidence that Rs. 1,654,550 allocated to the Valvvettithurai Municipal Council had been misused.

Meanwhile the NPC's Chief Secretary has ordered another inquiry to find out whether there was corruption in the awarding of tenders related to development programmes coming under the NELSIP during the previous regime.