What happened: During a NCA monitoring visit at a local partner, suspicions of fraudulent activities arose. An forensic audit was undertaken to investigate the suspicions and fraud was confirmed.
What we did: NCA engaged a forensic audit through an external audit company for investigation of the suspicions. The findings of the investigation confirmed fraudulent activities and NOK 400 710 has been repaid to the back-donor. A claim was also raised against the local partner.
What did we learn: Regular financial monitoring is valuable for detecting fraud as early as possible and this was re-confirmed in this case. Furthermore, dialogue and information sharing with other funders to the partner/projects is important in order to prevent against financial irregularities.