By JAMES APA GUMUNO
CORRUPT Government officials and villagers conspired to make false compensation claims and defrauded the State of about K34 million, police in the Highlands have revealed.
These Government officials were involved in the payment of compensation to villagers living along the Highlands Highway to clear their land so the highway could be upgraded.
Sources say police have received documentation and evidence sufficient to prosecute at least 200 people involved in these fraudulent claims.
The K34 million was paid under the Government’s Highlands Highway road rehabilitation programme.
A senior public servant in Kundiawa said yesterday the villagers, police, Works Department officials and valuers were involved, with the Government officials compromising their offices.
The source said a substantial amount of money was paid out to people using ghost names and that that money was later shared among the officers and villagers who planned this together.
In some cases, the locals living along the road bribed valuers assessing their properties with money, beer and women so that the value of their properties to be removed were doubled or tripled.
The public servant said among the false claims paid out, one person received the highest amount of K1.5 million in 2006.
This was highly questionable.
The payments were made between 2006 and early this year.
Police in the Highlands have worked hard to compile evidence and want criminal investigators from Port Moresby to fly to the Highlands to take over the files and start prosecuting.
The National understands that the Works Secretary and the Police Commissioner were informed by provincial authorities last year about the frauds cases.