Mendoza: Fine for Former Official Who Asked For Money for Events That Never Took Place
<p style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">He was an advisor to the Department of Provincial Schools, which in 2006 requested $ 44,000 to do some training sessions and a concert in an auditorium. But he did not report back the funds; the event was never carried out. The official was discharged from the unit. Last year, the local Court of Auditors applied monetary fines for $ 64,000 Argentine Pesos.</span></p> <div> </div>
A former official of the Directorate General of Schools of Mendoza was sanctioned by the provincial Court of Auditors, after it was detected that he had requested money to organize events that never took place.
This is Ariel Barrios, who worked as an adviser to the General Office of School Facilities and Special Projects Coordinator. According to the judgment of the federal watchdog, Barrios had requested $ 44,000 in 2006 for a conference on teacher training and agape musical vernacular called "mega concert-Our Roots".
But the officer "failed to account for these funds." Similarly, the Court of Auditors went to the Ángel Bustelo Auditorium, where activities should have been developed, to find out if the meeting had taken place. "No events arising in the period lasting from October 13th thru 25th of the year 2006 in relation to the 'New Training Curriculum Management Methodology ', or other events (New Models of Management Seminar or Our Roots by Mega) by Mr. Ariel Barrios.," the ruling said.
Following these findings, Barrios received at home notifications bound to justify the use of the $ 44,000, but he didn’t report back.
To retrieve the purse money, the possibility arose that Barrios had deducted prepaid amounts from his paycheck. However, this might not be possible, because the official, who "normally was the organizer of the event”, was dropped from the Directorate of Schools of Mendoza.
On the side of the education authorities, the Court noted that they conducted "countless acts and management" for the rendering of those advances, and identify suppliers or providers of services involved in the events or participants. Officials sought vouchers from Barrios to try to reconstruct the outstanding renditions," but there are no results so far."
That was how the watchdog decided to apply a monetary charge on Ariel Barrios for the amount in question, $ 44 mil, $ 20,344.44 plus statutory interest. Overall, the sanction totaled $ 64,344.44.
Moreover, the Court decided not to punish the Director General of Schools of Mendoza, or it’s Chief Financial Accountant, because on the one hand, they are credited to have done the necessary to ensure accountability efforts, and on the other, because it was found that they never had access to that money.