THE Internal Audit Division of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has unearthed another fraud perpetrated at a city wharf. This discovery was made during routine audit investigation by the staff of that Unit.
The staff suspected to be involved in the fraud has been identified and the Guyana Police Force has begun investigation into the matter. The GRA will provide more information on the nature of the fraud and indicate whether other staff and or taxpayers were involved.
Commissioner General of the GRA, Khurshid Sattaur noted that “while the magnitude of this fraud is estimated to be in the vicinity of $600,000 the fact that GRA is capable of detecting these activities is commendable.”
He acknowledged that while it may be impossible to prevent all frauds from occurring at an enormous entity such as the GRA which has a wide mandate and covers a wide geographic area the potency of internal control systems must not be compromised.
Mr. Sattaur believes that the ability of GRA to detect these frauds is a direct result of the many audit and investigative systems put in place in recent years.
Other notable frauds which were uncovered are the $300M cashier fraud which occurred in November 2009 and the non-adherence to banking procedures by a cashier working at Customs.
GRA instituted charges against the employees involved in the $300M fraud which resulted from collusion between staff of the Information Technology Division and the cashier area. GRA dismissed the officers involved and was able to institute charges against two of the perpetrators. One of the suspects has fled the jurisdiction while another was granted bail of $500,000. GRA is awaiting the investigation of the Guyana Police Force and the Auditor General’s Office to proceed with prosecution. Meanwhile, the cashier who disappeared with the daily takings instead of banking it was dismissed.
The Commissioner General commended the staff of the Audit Division for their tireless efforts in ensuring adherence to internal controls and to detect breaches.