FNs Børnefond (UNICEF) har oplyst, at dets interne kontrolsystem i 2010 afslørede misbrug af midler i millionklassen i et projekt i Pakistan. UNICEF-medarbejdere skal ikke have beriget sig, og kontrollen med samarbejdspartnere i området er skærpet.

NEW YORK, 13 April 2012: UNICEF said Friday that in 2010 its internal financial oversight system uncovered irregularities in a school rehabilitation project in northwestern Pakistan.

UNICEF immediately froze funds to the project and launched a series of investigations. The investigations revealed that an estimated 4 million US dollar (henved 22 mio. DKR) was lost when funds were misappropriated through over-billing for sub-standard repairs.

The investigation did not establish that UNICEF staff knowingly contributed to or benefitted from the losses. The investigation did conclude that UNICEF was defrauded (svindlet) by others involved in overall project implementation but was not able to establish definitely who those other parties were.

Following the detection of the irregularities, additional safeguards were put in place to strengthen financial controls and oversight there.

The project to rehabilitate schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was undertaken in 2009 and 2010 during a volatile time of high insecurity and large-scale displacement of people in the province. Providing assistance for children in these kinds of environments involves risks, but UNICEF has zero tolerance for fraud.

UNICEF has informed the relevant Government authorities in Pakistan and donor governments of the irregularities and is looking into any possible recovery of the misappropriated funds.

UNICEF continues to work with local authorities to provide children with access to education and other basic services.