A British official in the North has been sacked and two have been disciplined after an investigation into excessive and unaccounted expenditure of public money.
After a 15-month investigation, a report by British Government auditors criticised the lack of financial controls operated by the board of a company set up with taxpayers' money by the government to promote economic development in the western counties of the province.
Thousands of sterling pounds spent on the company credit card during trips around the world remains unaccounted for.It included huge amounts spent in restaurants and hotels by the man sacked.
Into the West was set up in 1997 to encourage successful emigrants to North America, Australia and New Zealand to return home to set up businesses in Northern Ireland - specifically its five western counties.
Its chairman was John McKinney, former chief executive of Omagh District Council, and Mr Joe Doherty, who ran the western region office of the Local Enterprise Development Unit - now part of Invest Northern Ireland - wasappointed company secretary.
The two men were the only signatories of the company Visa card on which, between January 1998 and February 2002, bills of around £200,000 were run up.
Mr Doherty has now been sacked following a lengthy period of suspension. Mr McKinney is out of the reach of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment - having quit his posts in January 2001 to take up a position as chief executive of the cross-border European Special Programmes Body.
The report from the DETI Internal Audit Service and Local Government Audit said although there were some invoices available for hotel and travel costs, a large percentage of Visa transactions were not supported by receipts orinvoices.
PA