Audit: MVR 10.7M in police procurements in 2021 were made without performance guarantee

An audit by the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) shows the police violated public finance regulations in procuring equipment and services back in 2021.

An audit of the police service’s 2021 financial statements released by the AGO show the service procured MVR 10,681,299 in goods and services without securing performance guarantees.

Another issue highlighted in the report is the mismanagement of records of vehicles and vessels used by the police.

Auditors found the police breached public finance regulations by failing to maintain records of spending on and trips made on the vehicles and vessels.

As such, the report highlights that while the police spent MVR 30,055,299 on purchasing fuel for the vehicles and vessels, the service did not have a policy in place to showing a record of the use of the vehicles and vessels or fuel usage.

Auditors found the police failed to keep a record of vehicles and vessels that the institution owns or rents.

The report also highlights concerns regarding the management of money seized as evidence from crime scenes. According to the report, an August 2022 inspection showed the police using a designated locker for confiscated money, holding MVR 9,010,011 in cash. Auditors found some of the money is from cases that date back years, with some of the bank notes torn and damaged due to old age.

The AGO expressed concern over the failure of the police to formulate a policy on collecting or returning such money.

But, overall, the AGO found the police spent its 2021 budget in line with public finance regulations and in a manner that achieved budget objectives.