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B-271896 1 (1997-03-04)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacxbp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: - 0


United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C, 205,I8

Offlee of the General Counsel



B-271896

March  4, 1997


Sidney  Kaplan
Chairman
Committee   of Inquiry Into Fiscal Irrcgularities
Department  of State

Dear  Mr. Kaplan:

This is in response to your request that we grant rollef from liability under 31 U.S.C.
§ 3527 to Ms. Vilma Gautreau, Class B Cashier, at the American Embassy  in Santo
Domingo,  Dominican  Republic, for the unexplained loss of 119,036 Dominican
Republic pesos, worth $15,835, from her account. As  explained in further detail
below, we  grant relief because we agree with your finding that his. Gautreau's
actions were not the proximate cause of this loss.

As noted above, the exact cause and nature of this loss is not known despite an
Embassy  investigation following the discovery of the loss. What is known is that on
April 28, 1992, an unannounced audit of Mis. Gautreau's cash account was
conducted  by the Embassy's Budget  and Fiscal Officer, revealing a shortage of
local currency funds worth $15,835. (The United Stated currency account (di( not
have a shortage.) The  audit consisted of a cash count of both the local and U.S.
currencies, and a reconciliation of the paid vouchers, In-transit vouchers, and
collections. The cash count was repeated a few (lays later, with no success at
reconciling the shortage, Unfortunately, the budget officer (leparted for a planned
vacation shortly after lie discovered the loss and was not available to help the
cashier in her efforts to reconcile the shortage. Upon returning from his vacation,
the budget officer reported the shortage on June 9, 1992.

Following a review of the situation, the Regional Administrative Management Center
for the American Embassy,  l'ederal District of Mexico, (RAMC) was not convinced
that a shortage actually existed. HAMO advise(l the Embassy to limit cashier hours
and activate an alternate cashier to receive consular receipts in order to alleviate
the extremely heavy workload  with which Ms.  Gautreau had to deal. This
recommendation   was based, in part, on a prior fact-finding trip conducted between
October 28 and November   8, 1991. (A (lisbursing official of RAMC conducte(l a fact
finding trip to review the cashier functions at the Amerien Embassy in Santo

                                                                           10-15226


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