{"id":256196,"date":"2025-10-31T11:45:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=256196"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:45:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:45:07","slug":"finance-ministry-to-report-findings-as-probe-widens-and-government-seeks-full-restitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/finance-ministry-to-report-findings-as-probe-widens-and-government-seeks-full-restitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Finance Ministry to report findings as probe widens and government seeks full restitution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Finance Ministry to report findings as probe widens and government seeks full restitution<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry of Finance is continuing its investigation into the unauthorized purchase of government vehicles, with the Financial Secretary leading the review and efforts to recover public funds.<\/p>

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Director-General of Communications Maurice Merchant confirmed that the probe has already secured EC$10 million in restitution<\/strong> from one car dealership and that discussions are ongoing with other dealers to recoup additional sums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Financial Secretary and her team are conducting the review into the unauthorized procurement of vehicles, and the Cabinet has been advised that the work is continuing,\u201d Merchant said. He added that the Ministry of Finance will report its findings and recommendations directly to Cabinet once the investigation concludes.<\/p>

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Responding to media questions, Merchant noted that the matter is being handled internally by the Ministry of Finance and that its outcomes could inform Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Financial Action Task Force (FATF)<\/strong> evaluation during the 2027 site visit.<\/p>

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He said the government views the recovery of funds as an important indicator of sound fiscal management and accountability in advance of that review. \u201cWe anticipate some closure on recouping additional funds in the coming weeks,\u201d Merchant added .<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finance Ministry to report findings as probe widens and government seeks full restitution The Ministry of Finance is continuing its investigation into the unauthorized purchase of government vehicles, with the Financial Secretary leading the review and efforts to recover public funds. Director-General of Communications Maurice Merchant confirmed that the probe has already secured EC$10 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":254564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFinance Ministry to report findings as probe widens and government seeks full restitution - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/finance-ministry-to-report-findings-as-probe-widens-and-government-seeks-full-restitution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finance Ministry to report findings as probe widens and government seeks full restitution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Finance Ministry to report findings as probe widens and government seeks full restitution The Ministry of Finance is continuing its investigation into the unauthorized purchase of government vehicles, with the Financial Secretary leading the review and efforts to recover public funds. 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