Government hands out SFr20million in excess to refugee centre
The Swiss government has inadvertently given SFr20million in surplus funds to Canton Vaud's foundation for asylum seekers, according to a report by the finance ministry. The Federal Refugee Office transferred the excess cash between 1995 and 2000.
The finance ministry’s audit shows the organisation’s accounts were either incomplete or inaccurate. The report attributed the cause of the errors to gaps in the organisation’s internal control system and an unreliable flow of information at all levels.
Canton Vaud has launched an enquiry into whether the government can reclaim the money. Further,”the government has launched an investigation, which is being overseen by the cantonal authorities,” said the parliamentarian Charles-Louis Rochat.
The canton has also launched its own internal investigation of the affair. “At the moment, nobody knows what caused the error,” Rochat said. Over the last year, the refugee organisation has been undertaking a programme of reform.
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