Officials probed over charity graft
2010-09-06 20:03
Bamako - Several Malian health ministry officials have been arrested in connection with a probe into embezzlement from the Global Fund against Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, a top prosecutor said on Monday.
"The use of Global Fund money entrusted to the ministry of health, has given rise to malpractice," said the state prosecutor in financial matters, Sombe Thera.
Thera said the amounts involved are much greater than initially suspected by investigators.
"Initially these malpractices amounted to at least $380 000. But investigations have revealed them to be much greater," he said, without elaborating.
The misappropriation mostly involved the use of forged cheques, he added.
The prosecutor said a team of fraud investigators from the Global Fund had amassed 55 000 documents relating to the case.
Police and judicial sources have confirmed to AFP that at least 10 people have been arrested in connection with the case, including officials from the health ministry.
A UN diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that the embezzlement meant that "several billions of CFA francs had not been spent to treat people."
According to the Global Fund website a total of $76 192 927 has been disbursed to the west African nation, which has an HIV/Aids prevalence rate of 1.5% for a population of 13 million.
- SAPA