Arrests are made over ‘$2.5m’ case

Four people have been arrested in connection with public sector financial irregularities reported by the Accountant General’s office.

Details are scarce, but Bermuda Police Service has confirmed the arrests were made in partnership with UK law enforcement agencies. All four have been released on bail. 

The investigation is ongoing, according to police, who, when reached yesterday, were tight-lipped about the case.

It is unclear where the four people are from, where they were arrested, what exactly they are alleged to have committed and what UK law enforcement agencies were involved. 

The identities of those arrested has been withheld.

The Accountant General’s Department declined to comment. Cabinet Office did not offer any comment. 

The arrests were first reported by ZBM earlier this week. The amount of public money rumoured to have gone missing is $2.5 million, although the Bermuda Sun could not confirm that figure before deadline.

The Accountant General’s department is responsible for all monies paid into or out of the government and monitors the funds in all accounts. 

The department is also charged with managing the government’s working capital to ensure it remains “sufficiently liquid to cover” operating costs while maximizing return on cash holdings, according to the department’s web site. 

The current Acting Accountant General is Roseanne M. Foy.

It’s not the first time the department has wrangled with financial problems that have triggered the
attention of law enforcement.

In January 2006, Harrison Isaac Jr. pleaded guilty in US federal court to defrauding the Bermuda government of $1.9 million while he was a former management accountant in the accountant general’s office during the first half of the last decade. n