SINGAPORE — Expressing concern over “serious” findings turned up by KPMG’s report on the Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC), the National Development Ministry (MND) said the town council must take steps to recover monies which have been lost and ensure that those who acted wrongfully are held to account.
In a statement on Friday evening, MND said the Government is also considering what other steps are necessary given the concerns KPMG highlighted over the behaviour of some of the town councilors in dealing with public funds.
The Housing and Development Board notified AHTC on Friday (Nov 5) to confirm that it will appoint a suitable third party to recover the monies lost on its behalf, including through legal actions where necessary.
MND said it is “deeply concerned” by KPMG’s findings of “serious legal and other regulatory breaches”, improper payments made by AHTC running into millions of dollars, and the possibility of criminal conduct.
“These findings by KPMG are serious. There has been a significant loss of public monies,” said the MND.
KPMG’s latest 68-page report, which was made public by AHTC on its website on Tuesday, flagged “serious conflicts of interest” and a “failed control environment” which exposed millions of dollars in public funds to improper use, including in payments to its former managing agent FM Solutions & Services and service provider FM Solutions and Integrated Services.
The owners of these two companies concurrently held key management and financial control positions in the town council and approved 132 payment vouchers amounting to more than S$23 million from the town council to the company.
KPMG also said improper payments to FMSS and FMSI alone amounted to over S$1.5 million, of which at least S$600,000 ought to be recovered by the town council.
The improper payments to FMSS and FMSI included overpayments for project management fees, overpayments to FMSS for purported overtime and CPF contributions payments to FMSS without certification that work had been performed, as well as payments made without the requisite co-signature of members of the town council.
AHTC also overpaid when it appointed FMSS as its managing agent by more than S$1.2 million.
