Government uncovers fraud at Medicines Authority

A man who till recently was a senior official at the Medicines Authority is being investigated by the government's Internal Audit Investigation Department (IAID) and the police over the misappropriation of more than Lm50,000, The Times has learnt.

The IAID took swift action after the authority became suspicious that a number of cheques it issued had not been received by the claimed recipients, or had been forged.

The official, who joined the authority about two years ago and whose main responsibilities included accounting, has been sacked.

Sources said the alleged fraudulent activity is restricted to one individual within the authority, which derives income from a government subvention of about Lm400,000 and through licensing fees for medicines.

Although the authority's accounts were audited externally in line with normal procedure, the alleged discrepancies did not come to light until recently.

It is not yet clear what proportion of the allegedly misappropriated funds are recoverable, though it appears that some of it at least was spent on hiring cars and travel, among other things.

More than one bank account is believed to have been fraudulently set up in the name of the authority and these have been frozen.

The government set up the IAID in June, 2000, as an independent government entity with responsibility to highlight areas where the suitability of internal controls are vulnerable and to investigate suspicious activity.

In 2001, the IAID was also given the responsibility to act as the sole national interlocutor of the European Anti-Fraud Office (DGOLAF) in Malta and chair the coordinating committee to support investigations into irregularities with a possible criminal intent coming from the police, Customs and the Attorney General.

The man is expected to be charged with offences related to fraud once the investigations by the IAID and the police are complete.