Over 200 deceased individuals received energy bill compensations last year. According to an audit report from the Court of Accounts, the unjustified payments exceeded 183 thousand lei. Representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection claim that the situation was caused by technical difficulties and a lack of interoperability of some databases at that time, reports IPN.

The auditors also found that at the Fund for Reducing Energy Vulnerability, transfers of over 244 million lei were made to compensate household consumers’ bills, without reconciliation documents with the service providers. The President of the Court of Accounts, Tatiana Sevciuc, emphasized that ensuring the traceability of each spent lei is a priority.

“This is the only way we can safeguard the compliance and efficiency of public money usage and assure citizens that our social protection system is immune to various reporting errors that may occur,” declared Sevciuc.

In response, the MMPS representatives explained that the mechanism for compensating energy vulnerability was implemented quickly, in response to the crisis situation, with the support of development partners, and the institution has assumed the recovery of unjustifiably paid amounts and the adjustment of internal control procedures.

The auditors also identified unjustified expenses, budget overruns, and the granting of bonuses or awards without clear supporting documents. Consequently, the Court of Auditors issued a qualified audit opinion and recommended that the Ministry take the necessary measures to remedy the deficiencies and recover the improperly paid amounts. The MMPS reiterated its commitment to correct the identified issues.