Finance probe gets underway

By JULIA DAI A BORE
THE Commission of Inquiry into the management of public monies by the Department of Finance starts tomorrow.
The inquiry is headed by former National and Supreme Court judge Maurice Sheehan.
Lawyers assisting the commission are private lawyer Sarea Soi, Prof Lawrence Kalinoe, former dean of the School of Laws at the University of PNG and Joan Arnie, another former academic and law lecturer from UPNG.
The secretary of the inquiry Paul Boyama said yesterday the inquiry would look into the existence of illegal, false or improper claims of payments made to the State and approved or paid by the Department of Finance over the period from 2000 to July 1, 2006.
They include the extent of illegal and improper claims; court judgements or out-of-court settlements against the State, identification of persons who instituted the claims and to whom the claims were paid.
Mr Boyama said the inquiry would also endeavour to establish the number of illegal, false or improper claims, court judgments or out-of-court settlements approved for payment by the Department of Finance during the period 2000 to July 1, 2006.
Also to be established would be the degree and extent of involvement by which legal firms in the making and payments of the illegal claims against the State.
Mr Boyama said the commission is to consider all payments made by the Finance Department that were in excess of K300,000 during that same period and would attempt to identify those specific payments that were illegal, fraudulent or improper.
Part of its investigations would also take into account the involvement in all of these illegal activities by the Office of the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, the Finance Department and the Registry of the National Court, Mr Boyama said
 

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