Relief of Accountable Officers--American Embassy, Harare, Zimbabwe
Highlights
GAO commented on the Department of State's request to relieve Ms. Gwendolyn A. Sawyer at the American Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, for certifying improper payment resulting from fraudulent activity. GAO found that the record indicated that the officials who certified improper payments resulting from fraudulent activity did not know of, and by reasonable diligence could not have discovered, the fraudulent activity, and there was nothing to suggest that the cashier who disbursed the funds should have been suspicious of the fraudulent nature of the transactions. Apart from the cashier's exercise of due care, since the three-year limitation period had expired, the accountable officers' account was settled by operation of law. Accordingly, the officers had no liability for any deficiency in the account.