State Audit uncovers $9.7 million of financial abuses in Q1

TIRANA, May 26 – The Supreme State Audit has identified 973 million lek (9.7 million dollars) of damage in central and local government institutions during controls carried out in the first three months of this year.
The latest quarterly report by the SSA revealed irregularities and financial abuses in revenues and expenses for the economic and financial activity of 2008 and 2009.
The biggest abuses were identified in the tax sector with a total of 3.4 million dollars. Auditors revealed considerable amounts of abuses in the regional tax directorates of Shkodra, Gjirokastra, Kukes and Dibra especially in the collection of profit and value added taxes and failure to impose fines for not submitting financial balance sheets in time.
Abuses varying from 9,000 to 110,000 dollars were also identified in the municipalities of Lezha, Korca, Shijak and Himara.
Second came customs offices with a total damage of 3.1 million dollars, especially in the Durres customs with 3 million dollars as unpaid taxes for the customs clearance of different articles and 60,000 dollars as unpaid taxes for the clearance of cars.
Third came the sale and rent process of state property with 1.4 million dollars of abuses.
Supreme state auditors identified abuses in the forestry policy directorate of Tirana as unpaid rent tariffs for the use of forest areas for production or commercial activities.
Irregularities were also identified in Korca municipality and Fier prefecture because of failing to collect rent from private subjects.
Fourth came the procurement field with 786,000 dollars of abuses in the Durres railway directorate, Education, Social Affairs and Transport ministries, and several municipalities and communes.
The Supreme State Audit also identified abuses in the fields of operative expenses, wages system, rewards and other financial violations including 500,000 dollars by the Education Ministry for a contract to install computer labs at compulsory schools.
The State Audit has recommended the compensation of the whole damage. SSA has filed lawsuits against 8 persons employed in the Shkodra forest directorate, General Prisons Directorate, Himara Municipality and the Durres Real Estate Registration Office for 590,000 dollars. All eight people are currently under investigation, said SSA in its report.
SSA has also requested 352 disciplinary and administrative measures against civil servants for financial violations and irregularities.
Earlier this year, the SSA said in its annual report it had uncovered 73 million dollars of financial abuses during controls carried out in 2009.