 initiative under his tenure compiled unverified data, including what he described as “garbage” entries, as part of its preliminary recovery estimates.){kind=link}
Former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo has acknowledged that the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative under his tenure compiled unverified data, including what he described as “garbage” entries, as part of its preliminary recovery estimates.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Mr. Domelevo confirmed that the ORAL team’s mandate was limited to collecting complaints and documentation from the public, without the capacity to verify or investigate the authenticity of the claims submitted.
“I completely agree,” he said, responding to the Deputy Attorney General’s remark that the estimated $21 billion figure touted under ORAL was exaggerated.
“Those figures are just a summation of the complaints which came. After an audit or investigation, those figures may balloon further or may shrink. It is possible.”
The former Auditor-General clarified that the real test of those claims would be determined in court, where the amounts could change significantly.
“The actual game is in the courtroom,” he said. “When you get to the courtroom, the amount may reduce significantly. And I cautioned then that even if we should win the $21 or $22 billion, collecting it is another game altogether.”
Mr. Domelevo further explained that the ORAL team, accepted every submission received, regardless of credibility.
“A preliminary investigation may even show that some of the complaints were just noise. There’s nothing in it. But we collected the data as it did so, including the garbage,” he stated.
“Nobody came to us that we turned away and said, yours we will not take.”
“Being an experienced auditor, I know that you can even submit documents, and later on, when we test the document, they may not have any substance or may not be authentic,” he noted. “So there will be a lot of garbage in it. There’s no two ways about that.”