Fraud at NHIS

…Former Regional Manager indicted

Painstaking investigations by the Financial Intelligence (FI) scouts have pointed to fraudulent transactions entered into by some of the district mutual schemes under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the Volta Region.

Cases of conflict of interest and document racketeering by officials of the NHIS in the region for personal gains have been unearthed with supporting documents.

Currently, documents in the possession of this paper reveal how some officials used insider knowledge to bid for, and wining contracts from the scheme in the various districts for their personal companies.

In one particular case, the immediate past regional manager for Volta Region, Raymond Avinu is alleged to have forged document of CYNDA LIMITED and DANNEVA ENTERPRISES to secure various contracts.

In the Keta District in 2006, bids were opened for the supply and installation of three Air Conditioners and three companies namely Rayco Alliance Services, Danneva Enterprises and Cynda Limited submitted their tenders.

Even though Rayco Alliance Services which had the lowest quotation eventually got the contracts, it is suspected that the three tenders were submitted by the same person, Raymond Avinu.

Moreover, this paper discovered that one phone number appeared on the documents presented by Rayco Alliance Services and DANNEVA ENTERPRISES for the same bid.

Attempts to reach proprietors of DANNEVA ENTERPRISES proved futile since the Land-line number provided does not seem to exist, while the other cell number on it keeps ringing with no response.

However, officials of the third company, CYNDA Ltd whose document was also presented for the bid claimed no knowledge at all about such a bid.

The Managing Director of Cynda, who only gave her name as Cynthia and her husband, who also gave his name as Frank expressed surprise at the information when this paper visited their premises at Asylum Down.

Later it was realised that Rayco Alliance Services belongs to the then District Scheme Manager for Ketu, Mr. Raymond Avinu, who subsequently rose to the position of the Regional Manager for Volta.

There are letters from Rayco Alliance which were signed by Raymond Avinu as the Chief Executive Officer at the time he was doubling as the District Scheme manager for Ketu

The Keta District Scheme Manager, one Mr. Kugbe confirmed to the FI that the total contract fee had been paid to Rayco Alliance in the transaction.

Rayco Alliance was thus paid an amount of ¢ 51, 060,000(fifty-one million and sixty thousand cedis) or GH¢ 5 16,000 (Five thousand 0ne hundred and six Ghana Cedis) for 1 Air Conditioner (2.5HP) costing ¢ 18.300.000(or GH¢ 1,830), 2 Air Conditioners (1.5HP) at a unit price of ¢10, 8000,000 or GH¢ 1800.

The installation cost the District Mutual Fund ¢4.5 million per unit bringing the total to ¢44, 5 million and a VAT plus NHIS levies adding up to ¢6.66 million.

This brought the total payment made to Rayco Alliance Services in 2006 to ¢ 51, 060,000.

Recently when the problems with the Adaklu Anyigbe district scheme came to light Mr Avinu was instructed to investigate the problems, but even before he could complete the investigations, Mr Avinu got transferred to Headquarters Operations in Accra.

When this paper contacted Mr. Avinu on the issue, he defended his actions, of bidding for the contracts, saying his company; a legally registered one is independent of him “and had been running long before I joined NHIS”.

“I am aware there are people out there wanting to destroy me, but my arsenals are ready and my lawyers would take on anyone who drags my name in the mud”.

He questioned this paper whether he is the one to do due diligence for the district schemes when bids are presented.

Source: Financial Intelligence (Justice Lee Adoboe) also available on line at http://wwwmyfinancialintelligence.blogspot.com/