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– We have handled this case in the usual way, writes IMDi director Libe Rieber Mohn in his response to questions from Erik Stephansen of Nettavisen.
It was on Friday that Nettavisen editor and commentator Erik Stephansen asked IMDi Libe’s editor Rieber Mohn about the treatment of Shabana Rehman and the Born Free foundation.
Read here: Born Free: Nine Questions to IMDi Director Libe Rieber-Mohn
On Monday afternoon, Nettavisen received the following from the communication department of the Integration and Diversity Directorate:
Here are the answers to your questions from Libe Rieber-Mohn:
Where are you, Libe Rieber-Mohn? What case process? Didn’t the case end already the first weekend after receiving the Ernst & Young report?
We have been in an internal process where it is not natural to enter into public controversy with a voluntary foundation. Our impression of systematic violations of the preconditions for grants has been reinforced in the recent prosecution of cases.
How many hours did you actually spend depriving Born Free state aid?
IMDi has not deprived Born Free’s support. That’s what the Storting does. Every year, IMDi makes its recommendation to the Ministry of Education and Research on this point. After looking at the Born Free poll findings, we could no longer vouch for our recommendation to support the organization with a new state budget of 6 million in 2021. We had to inform KD about this.
Why was it so urgent?
Ernst & Young’s investigations have been ongoing for about a month from mid-August to September 18 and have been postponed en route to, among other things, satisfy Born Free requests.
Born Free has had the opportunity to present its version in interviews, through feedback in the minutes and after reading the main part of the report (part of facts), which has been in the hands of the organization since September 15. It has been important for all parties not to extend this longer than necessary.
What did you do to ensure the quality of Ernst & Young’s report?
The foundation’s response has been reviewed by both IMDi and experts from the audit firm Ernst & Young. A thorough review of the foundation’s accounting documentation shows that there are clear and systematic weaknesses in financial management.
Why doesn’t Born Free have access to the audio recordings of the interrogations?
Interviews are transcribed in their entirety and submitted to Born Free. They were also offered several times to listen to the audio recordings at the EY facility, but they refused.
Have you verified the motives of the complainants?
IMDi’s evaluations are based primarily on a review of the foundation’s financial and accounting documentation. The forecasts have primarily served as a starting point to take a closer look at parts of the economy.
What serious errors have you really found?
In the IMDi evaluation, good financial management entails minimum requirements for planning, order, verifiability, transparency, rationality and achievement of objectives.
Thorough investigations of the foundation’s finances show clear and systematic violations of the grant preconditions. Below is a summary of the violations:
Mix between the finances of the foundation and the private company of the general manager. Among other things, this is illustrated by the fact that the foundation has continuously covered the costs related to a documentary film project where the rights are owned by the CEO’s own company. Surveys of the foundation’s finances have shown that the project expenses, which are currently covered by the Born Free foundation, total NOK. 643020 to 12.31.2019. Only after the foundation learned that Ernst & Young needed to review the accounts, NOK 350,000 was transferred to the Born Free foundation from the CEO’s own company. As of September 10, 2020, there was still an outstanding balance of almost NOK 100,000.
Lack of management and control of acquisitions and purchases. The four-eye principle dictates that all transactions in a business must be approved by two people. This has not been done at the foundation. It has not been evaluated whether the hiring is exclusively business-related or whether it also contains elements of private hiring. In reality, it has been the responsibility of the CEO only to define what costs are related to the business. This is exemplified by current expenses related to, among other things, energy services, ongoing purchases of applications and software, and trips to London, which appear as private acquisitions.
There is a lack of use of project codes and cost specification in the accounts, which makes verifiability difficult. 41% of the costs (about 3 MNOK for 2019) that are entered into the accounts are not associated with any project or are a form of administration costs such as salary or rent. It is not clear what these costs represent. The random samples have identified several examples of document documentation that are not in accordance with some of the basic accounting principles of the Accounting Law.
Do you think this is proper case processing?
We have dealt with this matter in the usual way. On several occasions, the foundation has made wrongful accusations against IMDi, including decisions, etc. However, only today has a final decision been made in the case. The initiation of an investigation is not a decision within the meaning of the Public Administration Law.
IMDi’s professional input to KD related to the 2021 state budget support recommendation is not an individual decision under the Public Administration Act. Here we have an advisory function to the Ministry of Education. Regarding the withholding of aid for the second quarter of 2020, we have treated it in accordance with the rules of the Public Administration Law in the usual way.
Is this how we should have it?
What IMDi is doing now is in line with normal case processing. Fortunately, the vast majority manage to follow the grant guidelines. Born Free has received 14 million from the state budget. Another reason to expect good financial management.
To the question whether Born Free possibly has a claim for compensation against the state: it is not the case that a foundation has a claim for compensation against the state for not being in the state budget. “
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