Karim unveils $10M transportation scam at UTT

An audit of expenditure at the University of the Trinidad & Tobago shows that the university spent $10 million to rent vehicles for 130 “high performing athlete” students on scholarship at the University.

The students representing 12 sporting disciplines fell under the programme of Academy of Sports and Leisure Studies.

The well-respected accounting firm Ernst and Young Services Ltd conducted the investigation.

Tertiary Education Minister Senator Fazal Karim said the report covered the period October 2007 to June 2011 and noted that the probe uncovered major irregularities involving over-invoicing of an unregistered car company based in Port-of-Spain and possible collaboration with UTT staff.

The fraud is just one of the many of irregularities uncovered at UTT, which was started during the Manning PNM administration.

Karim made the revelations when he spoke in Parliament last week on two motions to increase this country’s borrowing capacity by over $26 billion through two specific pieces of legislation.

Karim said the company provided transportation to the students, who lived in Vistabella. The arrangements were for the car rental company to provide transportation whenever and wherever the students requested it.

“The bottom line is that over the last few years this agency has billed for just under a whopping $10 million, of which $7 million has been paid...The audit has turned up major irregularities suggesting over invoicing and possible collaboration with UTT staff,” Karim said.

He outlined some of the major discrepancies, and said batches of documents between May 2010 to November 2010 are missing. The People's Partnership government took office in May 2010.

Karim also spoke about weak internal control and poor management practices, citing in particular major financial issues regarding the Tamana project.

“Multi-million dollar changes were made without proper documentation, which are causing major delays. The bottom line is that despite the high profiles of people that held positions there, UTT is in a mess from an administrative and financial point of view.”

The Sunday Guardian reported that it has seen a copy of the Ernst and Young report and has published the details listed below:

Non-compliance with UTT’s policies and procedures which resulted in procuring of services from a supplier without the guidance of the procurement department.

• No audit trail to ascertain the engagement of the (company) as the original request for quotation or evidence of the evaluation of the quotations could not be provided
• No material requisition to initiate supply of quotations for the provision of transportation services
• The use of UTT’s service contract authorisation template without consent and knowledge of the procurement department
• UTT was over invoiced by $456,500 and under invoiced by $27,300
• 97 per cent of purchase orders generated by the (company) were done after the provision of the service and receipts of invoices from the supplier

The paper said the investigation revealed that the total value of invoices submitted by the company over the period October 2007 to May 2011 amounted to $9,908,450. In addition, it said iinvoices processed and paid $7,129,050, leaving outstanding unpaid invoices totaling $2,447, 900.

The audit is part of UTT’s forensic audit, which Attorney General Anand Ramlogan had requested upon taking up office in May 2010.