UK high commission in Sierra Leone loses £2MILLION in diesel fuel scam as diplomats blame ‘collusion’ by local staff
The UK high commission in Sierra Leone has lost around £2million in a diesel fuel scam, it was revealed today.
The top civil servant at the Foreign Office blamed ‘collusion’ by local staff as he informed MPs of the eye-watering hit.
In a letter to the Foreign Affairs Committee, permanent secretary Philip Barton said the issue related to ‘the procurement of diesel fuel for the High Commission’s electricity generators’.
‘Work is ongoing to calculate the amount lost as accurately as possible and to establish the full background as to how the loss took place,’ he wrote.
A stock image of the British High Commission in Sierra Leone
In a letter to MPs, Foreign Office permanent secretary Philip Barton said the issue related to ‘the procurement of diesel fuel for the High Commission’s electricity generators’
‘From the work undertaken so far, we believe a number of Country-Based Staff colluded to circumvent controls.
‘The staff believed to have been involved have been suspended and disciplinary action is ongoing.
‘Immediate action was taken after the issue was identified.’
Sir Philip said ‘a programme of improvements to controls has already been initiated at the High Commission’.
‘I have commissioned a lessons learned review to identify what went wrong, assess roles and responsibilities, and review the application of escalation and supervisory controls.
‘Additional internal audit and investigation follow up work is scheduled for later this year.’
Sir Philip said ‘a programme of improvements to controls has already been initiated at the High Commission’
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