Austria: Court of Auditors attests COFAG total failure
The Austrian Court of Auditors examined COFAG – and found a devastating verdict. COFAG should ideally be dissolved.
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the essentials in brief
- COFAG is responsible for handling the Covid-19 aid in Austria.
- The Court of Auditors took a close look at the institution.
- He is now advising the Ministry of Finance to dissolve COFAG.
Corona aid for companies in Austria is provided by the Covid-19 Federal Finance Agency (COFAG). In a report published today, the Court of Auditors does not leave the institute a good hair.
The Court of Auditors criticizes the fact that the institute was created without clearly documenting the decision-making process in the Ministry of Finance. According to a statement by the Court of Auditors, alternatives were also not weighed up.
COFAG was dependent on external expertise
According to the Austrian news agency APA, the examiners cannot understand how the institution was founded. There would have been structures already in place which the Treasury could have drawn upon.
In addition, the institute was dependent on external expertise, which such an institution normally has at its disposal. In June 2021, more than 200 employees worked for COFAG. Only around 16 people were employed by the finance agency itself.
By mid-2021, this will cost the Court of Auditors 21 million Euroby the end of the year it was already 36 million Euro.
Recommendation: dissolve COFAG
Further criticism of the court of auditors interdependencies of the COFAG with ABBAG, the mining investment company of the federal government). For example, one of the COFAG managing directors is also the head of ABBAG.
The fact that an external minute-taker was commissioned for supervisory board meetings is also criticized. This alone costs around 125,000 between April and September 2020 Euro.
And that’s by far not the end of the criticism: Overpayments of 117 million Eurounnecessary potential for excessive demands, payouts without proof of damage.
The devastating verdict: “The Court of Auditors recommends the Ministry of Finance […]to dissolve the company after completion of the tasks».
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