State-owned energy company Petrotrin is investigating reports that 22 of its employees may have been hired on the basis of bogus qualifications.
A report in the Guardian newspaper quotes a company spokesperson as saying that the company is conducting a forensic audit on the matter and has called in Fraud Squad detectives.
In addition the Guardian said Petrotrin it has written to the City and Guilds (in England) and other examining bodies to verify the credentials of the employees under investigation.
According to the source cited by the Guardian, City and Guilds has indicated that it has no record of at least one employee completing any course at the institution and the person's name is not on the institution's student database.
The spokesperson is quoted as saying that the falsifying of qualifications appears to be a conspiracy. “It is a little ring of them who have conspired with each other and now that one got caught, he blew the whistle on the others.
“Some of them have sent in their resignations for fear that Petrotrin caught up with them but the company is refusing to accept them because it intends to take it further,” the source is reported to have told the Guardian.
Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan told the paper she is not aware of any such investigation and did not offer any comment on the matter. However she said it is necessary that every board or management “review” its operations from time-to-time.
A forensic audit of Petrotrin is currently taking place with the external auditors examining minutes of meetings, phone records, e-mails and a trace of old e-mails, including deleted ones.
The audit is focussed on the high cost overruns of the refinery's gas optimisation project, which has resulted in a $12 billion lawsuit against Petrotrin by GTL Incorporated.
Attorney General Ananad Ramlogan commissioned the audit last year
A report in the Guardian newspaper quotes a company spokesperson as saying that the company is conducting a forensic audit on the matter and has called in Fraud Squad detectives.
In addition the Guardian said Petrotrin it has written to the City and Guilds (in England) and other examining bodies to verify the credentials of the employees under investigation.
According to the source cited by the Guardian, City and Guilds has indicated that it has no record of at least one employee completing any course at the institution and the person's name is not on the institution's student database.
The spokesperson is quoted as saying that the falsifying of qualifications appears to be a conspiracy. “It is a little ring of them who have conspired with each other and now that one got caught, he blew the whistle on the others.
“Some of them have sent in their resignations for fear that Petrotrin caught up with them but the company is refusing to accept them because it intends to take it further,” the source is reported to have told the Guardian.
Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan told the paper she is not aware of any such investigation and did not offer any comment on the matter. However she said it is necessary that every board or management “review” its operations from time-to-time.
A forensic audit of Petrotrin is currently taking place with the external auditors examining minutes of meetings, phone records, e-mails and a trace of old e-mails, including deleted ones.
The audit is focussed on the high cost overruns of the refinery's gas optimisation project, which has resulted in a $12 billion lawsuit against Petrotrin by GTL Incorporated.
Attorney General Ananad Ramlogan commissioned the audit last year
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