August 2021 - Malawi

What happened:

Through an investigation of the partner's board in December 2018, it was established that two people in the management of a local partner had deceived the organization over several years. Violations of internal control procedures, forgeries and fictitious acquisitions were found.

What did we do:

In consultation with Norad, NCA chose to initiate further investigation of the partners' handling and especially of the two key people in the management's actions. In total, two forensic audits were conducted by a partner. Serious findings were uncovered and a summary of these found that NOK 472,906 had been defaulted. The defaulted amount has been repaid to Norad and the partnership has been terminated.

What did we learn:

This incident showed us how one or two strong leaders in an organization can do great harm to a local partner. A good and accountable internal control as well as an active board is of great importance.