MVR 600,000 'vanishes' from Dhiyamili council's safe

The Auditor General's Office report has revealed MVR 600,000 from Thaa atoll Dhiyamigili Council's safe has vanished.

In the 'Kolhumadulu Dhiyamigili Council Secretariat's Compliance Audit Report 2022', the Auditor General's Office said it checked the council secretariat's safe on October 18, 2023.

The reports that upon inspection, the Auditor General's Office discovered that MVR 600,000 from the total amount that should be kept in the safe, was missing.

The report also adds that the council had rolled more than MVR 2 million in cash since 2020, and by October 18th last year, the safe should have contained a total of MVR 605,438 in cash, which was not present at the time of Auditor General's Office inspection.

Out of the money taken out from the council, MVR 455,174 was deposited to the authority's bank account, which included its 2020 revenue of MVR 242,400, another MVR 161,053 withdrawn earlier on August 21, 2023, and MVR 51,721 deposited on August 21 last year.

The audit report also revealed that MVR 1.4 million out of the MVR 1.7 million expenditure, has been verified as spent explicitly for the council's requirements.

Although records of the remaining MVR 328,482 was maintained in a separate registry of the council, the transaction details of this money have not been specified.

The report further clarifies that the council had not provided details of its revenue and expenditure to the Local Government Authority (LGA) - the watchdog of council bodies. The council had also not shared details of the businesses owned, and the revenues earned by the council members.

The Auditor General has advised Dhiyamigili council members to provide detailed income statements of their businesses and income.