Aid group questions security firm billing
WASHINGTON -- Government auditors are challenging $14 million in payments for security services made by the U.S. foreign aid contractor whose Iraq jobs program was suspended after two outside reviews raised questions about possible misspending.
An audit found that Sabre International, a security firm founded by former British special forces soldiers, had failed to justify bills it submitted to International Relief and Development (IRD), said Dona Dinkler, chief of staff for USAID's inspector general.
IRD paid Sabre with money from the jobs program and another grant funded by American taxpayers.
"A major portion of the $14 million in questioned costs deal with billed labor that was not substantiated by any documentation, such as timesheets or daily logs," said Dinkler, of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
IRD will have a chance to contest the findings. "IRD responded to this report by conducting its own investigation, and has shared its findings with appropriate government officials," IRD said in a statement that declined further comment. "All protective services that Sabre were contracted to perform were performed," said Alex Breingan, Sabre's executive manager, in an e-mail, adding that IRD is working with government officials to provide documentation.
The payments to Sabre were made through two grant programs run by IRD, a Virginia-based non-profit that is one of USAID's largest foreign aid contractors.
One was the $644 million Community Stabilization Program, a country-wide jobs program designed to tamp down the insurgency in Iraq. The other was a $92 million program for small infrastructure repairs and democracy promotion in Baghdad.
USA TODAY reported Monday that USAID earlier this month suspended IRD's Iraq jobs program after two outside reviews raised questions. A March 2008 audit by the inspector general found evidence of fraud and money siphoned to insurgents.
More recently, allegations surfaced in the northern city of Mosul that led USAID to suspend the program.
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