CCAC unveils fraud case involving subsidy to a civil servant

[ Photo; Renato Marques ]

The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has unveiled a case in which a driver from the office of the president of the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) is suspected of committing fraud to unlawfully obtain a family subsidy of MOP120,000.

According to a statement from the CCAC, after an investigation, the commission found that the driver involved in the case, who had been living with his wife and her parents (his father-in-law and mother-in-law), knew that his father-in-law had a full-time job and received a stable monthly income.

He also knew that his father-in-law and mother-in-law had been receiving an old-age pension, with their combined annual income exceeding the maximum limit for applying for the family subsidy on a per capita basis.

However, the civil servant submitted to his department an “Application Form for Family Subsidy” that included documents containing false information, resulting in the family subsidy being defrauded of a total sum of more than MOP120,000.

In the same statement, the CCAC notes that the person is suspected of having committed the crime of fraud involving high-value property, as provided in the Penal Code.

The CCAC has already forwarded the case to the Public Prosecutions Office for further procedures and has notified the Office of the President of the TUI of the situation.

In the press statement, the CCAC noted that the family subsidy is intended to help public servants cover the living expenses of their family members when they cannot do so on their own. It also remarked that, as civil servants, they have a special duty to make truthful and accurate declarations and should not risk providing false statements for profit. Renato Marques