Sources told Stabroek News recently that management has not been giving any information on the investigation. The staff who were sent home, including the officer in charge of the department, were told that management is awaiting the outcome of the police investigation. However, according to information reaching Stabroek News the police investigation is all but stalled as no progress has been made following the questioning of the employees.
The pensions officer, who was expected to retire shortly, and two others were sent home in February. They were the last remaining employees in the department prior to the discovery of the fraud. The others included the supervisor who authorized the payments and a clerk.
Reports are that the department is now staffed by new employees and persons who were transferred from other departments and this could lead to operations in that department slowing down as the persons would have to learn the procedures.
This newspaper was told that the workers were sent home after ongoing investigations by the NIS revealed that some overseas pensioners might also have been defrauded and the sum involved amounted to more than $900,000.
Stabroek News had attempted to speak to acting General Manager Doreen Nelson about the fraud as well as several other issues but she asked that a list of question be sent to her, promising to answer them. The questions were sent and after more than three weeks she responded by way of writing stating that the questions asked about the fraud were answered by Chairman of the NIS board, Dr Roger Luncheon during press conferences.
“Please also note that training of staff is ongoing and dissemination of information on NIS issues is regularly done through the weekly TV programme ‘NIS and You’, radio and newspaper ads, outreach programmes and seminars.” This was in response to the other questions asked. However, prior to sending the letter to Stabroek News, the general manager was seen speaking on several NIS issues on television newscasts twice.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News understands that investigators detected that life certificates of overseas pensioners were forged and payments were made. Sources said that with respect to the pensioners residing overseas, the signatures of the consul, doctors and senior public servants were forged and fake stamps placed on the life certificates.
It was following the investigations and comparisons with other life certificates that the forgery was detected and the workers were sent home. While they would not have been found to be directly involved in the fraud the employees would have had to authorize the payments.
Stabroek News was told recently that the employees were advised that they would have to take polygraph tests. While some said they were willing to take the test as they felt it would have cleared them of any wrongdoing others declined. In the end none of them took the test and sources said the employees feel that their futures are now “just hanging in the air.”
Sources had told Stabroek News that instead of sending home the employees, management at the NIS should have sought to plug the weaknesses in the system to prevent the recurrence of such frauds.
Initially this newspaper was told that four persons were the architects of the fraud as they exploited the weaknesses that exist at the NIS.
Stabroek News has been told also that vouchers are printed in Georgetown and then sent to the managers around the country who sign them even though they do not see any supporting documents.
The sources questioned how the internal auditors hired by management did not highlight the obvious weaknesses at the organisation and once again called on managers to hire a consultant to ensure that the loopholes are plugged. It was pointed out that the lives of several persons are being destroyed because management is seeking to “appear as if they are doing something even though there is no evidence implicating the employees.”
The sources described the sending home of the employees as “collective managerial bungling.”
This newspaper understands that initially, the details of four dead pensioners were used to effect pension payments.
According to reports, the fraud started early last year and it involved the printing of pension voucher books for the four pensioners who had died in 2006.
The sources said the fraud was discovered in November last year and it involved claims being made for the four dead pensioners dating back to 2006.
