The General Auditing Bureau (GAB) has found that SR75 million of public money has been spent illegally by certain officials for their own personal gain. The violations were uncovered in the monthly records of government bodies falling under the jurisdiction of the GAB – the State's financial watchdog. The violations included disbursement of extra amounts of money for staff to use as allowances for transport, secondment, foreign scholarships, field work, end of service awards and other bonuses and rewards that are in breach of the Civil Service regulations. The GAB has demanded that the amounts be returned to the State treasury. The violations also included the disbursement of amounts allocated for the previous year and amounts deducted from certain sections that do not allow this. Only the Ministry of Finance can give approval for such disbursements. The GAB now wants officials to provide reasons for the spending of this money. The GAB also noted that a number of projects have not been completed and that despite this, no action had been taken against the contractors involved. This was also in violation of regulations. Among the government bodies found guilty of wrongdoing include universities which violated the Higher Education and Universities Council regulations.
