Ambassador hits back at NAO

In a reply sent to MaltaToday, that this week carried a detailed report into the findings by the National Audit Office (NAO) on the Maltese diplomatic mission in China, former ambassador Karl Xuereb hit out at the auditor for not having requested “relevant audit evidence kept at the embassy,” and for publishing a report “without even attempting to access them.”

In his report the Auditor General pinpointed a series of alleged shortcomings at the Beijing embassy during 2008-2009, which ambassador Xuereb – who today is the Maltese ambassador to Berlin – describes as “broad allegations which allege impropriety.”

The NAO said that ambassador Xuereb travelled “at least three times” with his entire family between Beijing and Malta in business class, against all established procedures, adding that in the three instances, reimbursement to the ambassador covered the purchase of air tickets that were “only supported by provisional reservation forms.”

In July 2009, a payment voucher covered a refund to the ambassador’s wife for air tickets for herself and her son. “Two provisional bookings were attached to the payment voucher, one indicated the price of €2,467 if booking was issued on June 30, 2009 while the other showed €5,668.51 if booking was issued on July 1.

“In actual fact, the higher price was refunded to the ambassador’s wife, but it could not be ascertained on which date the ticket was issued due to lack of evidence,” the NAO said, adding that the provisional bookings were not supported by an invoice, receipts or actual air tickets, so it could not be established whether the amount refunded reflected the actual amount paid.

More money was allegedly paid to cover three payment vouchers for Ambassador Xuereb between July and August 2008, as a charge on the change of date on return air tickets. Xuereb availed himself of a flight with a stopover in Brussels, incurring another expense of €1,908 on the air ticket.

“Both the ambassador and his spouse received subsistence allowance in connection with the one-night stop, with the NAO finding no evidence of ‘official business’.”

Despite the €9,513 paid out in air tickets, the ambassador was also refunded a further €13,000 on air travel, subsistence and contingency payments related to seven official visits undertaken during the same period. Other amounts paid, also relating to the ambassador’s official travel amounted to €3,929.

But in his replies to MaltaToday, ambassador Karl Xuereb contested the statements made by the Auditor General explaining that “indeed all diplomats based in the Maltese embassy in Beijing were flown to Malta once a year for home leave,” and added that there is an established procedure for this, including various forms and authorizations.

“These were all completed not only in respect of myself and all my family, but in respect of the other diplomats,” Xuereb said.

He went further to reveal that this has been pointed out to the NAO but for some reason these completed procedures have been ignored, and stressed that it is “also untrue that backup documentation was not provided to support all flights.”

“It is true that there was a charge for a change in dates for the return to Beijing in August 2008. This was because my mother became terminally ill during our visit and subsequently died on August 14.

“She was buried on August 16, 2008. Of course we did not just delay without authorisation, but were constantly in touch with the Ministry and the Permanent secretary. This was also pointed out in my response to NAO but for some reason, it seems to have been ignored. Should my mother have died whilst I was in China, I would have been entitled to a return passage to Malta according to the Ministry’s Conditions of Service. Staying on was therefore sensible and saved the government money,” ambassador Karl Xuereb told MaltaToday.

He categorically denied that there were any instances of travel that did not have any relevant authorized forms, and stressed that all instances of travelwere always authorized in advance and supporting documents were always supplied and submitted.

“The NAO have come to swift conclusions without examining all the documentation and without considering explanations given,” Xuereb concluded.

Meanwhile, the NAO report also pointed out further shortcomings on behalf of ambassador Xuereb, namely how only four out of the seven official visits made by the chief diplomat in Beijing were covered by a formal programme or agenda supporting the visit, and “due to the lack of documentation, it could not be ascertained that hotel expenses claimed and refunded to the ambassador were actually paid by him.”

In all four visits, the subsistence allowance was found to be “overstated” while two other instances were not covered by any formal agenda, while €230 was paid to the ambassador as “contingency money” in connection with a visit to Japan. “In support of this payment, the ambassador provided a receipt covering a meal for two, notwithstanding that similar expenses are covered by the per diem subsistence allowance.”

Another payment of €3,504 for the ambassador’s ticket fare to attend the Malta-China Joint Commission in Malta was not backed by the flight ticket.

The NAO report also reveals thatambassador Karl Xuereb was reimbursed for ‘fake money’ that two clerks at the Beijing embassy had received, but failed to verify by using a machine provided, ending up with counterfeit Renmimbi.