By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL managers attached to a department at Bahamas Power and Light have been placed on leave while a forensic audit is being carried out on the utility provider’s finances, Works Minister Desmond Bannister confirmed yesterday.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Bannister stressed the action was not an “indictment” on the employees, but said the auditors needed “full access” to all BPL files without interference by the staff.

Mr Bannister would not say how many persons were sent home, but The Tribune understands the three senior officers were suspended Friday afternoon.

“This does not mean they are guilty of anything, we have to wait until we see the full report,” Mr Bannister told The Tribune.

“We have hired persons that are highly experienced and very thorough because we want the answers as to what happened. I told the board that this is not political and I wanted them to use their best judgment and to follow the advice of the auditors. I want them to be able to do what they feel is best so there will be no interference from me whatsoever. “There is no politics in this at all. Wherever this investigation leads us, that is what we will do.”

Mr Bannister said he is unsure how long the investigation will take but he said “we have to be careful not to put time limits on their work.”

In late June, the administration building at BPL’s Big Pond office was shut down to staff and customers over a weekend, while the audit was being carried out.

According to a source close to the matter, the offices were closed to allow “full access” to Ernst and Young auditors to investigate the millions of dollars that have allegedly been “stolen” from the company.

The source also said that the Ernst and Young auditors were flown in from an office in the United States to conduct the investigation.

Last week, a well-placed source told The Tribune that the amount allegedly missing from BPL has risen to $4m. When asked for comment on this, Mr Bannister said he had not received the updated figure.

Last month, four BPL employees were suspended and one person was terminated pending the outcome of the theft investigation.

Certain employees were accused of “orchestrating an elaborate scheme” that allegedly involved fake companies and forged cheques. Allegedly at least one bank employee was also involved in the plot and is being investigated, a source told The Tribune.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander recently said that while police have not made any arrests to date, “there is no doubt that someone will be charged.”

During the budget debate last month, Mr Bannister told parliamentarians that “action is forthcoming” in connection with the investigation.