2023 Corruption case: Angola
May 2023
What happened
A local partner of NCA engaged a consultant without a procurement process, engaging in nepotism. In addition, there was a theft from the local partner’s bank account.
What we did:
The case contains with two issues:
- An illegal acquisition worth $11,000
- Embezzlement of unused funds that Norwegian Church Aid has demanded back in connection with the termination of the cooperation agreement with the local partner.
The case initially dealt with a case of illegal purchase of consulting services. NCA notified Norad of this situation on 4 June 2021. The whistleblowing case was established on November 18, 2021. In addition, in November 2021 new information emerged that funds from the local partner's bank account had been embezzled.
The collaboration with the local partner started in January 2021 and had only been going on for a short time when the problem with the acquisition became known in May 2021. NCA notified Norad. The local employee has not admitted to any wrongdoing, but when confronted about the matter, he chose to resign from his position with immediate effect. The affected acquisition has a value of USD 11,000. NCA requested a refund of unused funds plus funds equivalent to the value of the illegal procurement, totalling USD 22,511, but we were informed that an employee of the local partner had embezzled the funds and then ran away. The local partner reported the matter to local police, but the culprit has not been held accountable by the authorities.
Unused project funds totalling USD 22,511, corresponding to NOK 240,262, have been embezzled and lost. The entire amount (100%) constitutes Norad funds and have been repaid to Norad.
What we learned:
This case is a strong reminder of the importance of procurement follow-up at the partner level. Nepotism must further have a strong focus in procurement training. The financial partner monitoring should have strong emphasis on procurement and do spot checks on files at all threshold levels.