A former Kanifing Municipal Council cashier is facing a forensic audit after an inquiry found that more than D140m in cheques cashed in his name could not be matched to supporting vouchers.

Saihou Sabally told the Commission of Inquiry that he cashed cheques authorised by the council's chief executive and finance director, then paid staff, allowance recipients and suppliers according to the instructions on the vouchers.

Bank records showed cheques in his name totalling D167.6m between May 2018 and January 2023. The Commission said it could trace vouchers for D27.55m, leaving D140.1m without matching vouchers at the time of the inquiry.

Mr Sabally denied misappropriating money. He said he returned completed vouchers to the Finance Department and did not keep copies. He also acknowledged that he kept no cashbook and did not record the handover of vouchers to Finance, saying this was the system he had followed.

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The Commission found that the missing records made it difficult to confirm how the money was used or whether payments were properly authorised. It said cash was sometimes withdrawn and paid out before supporting vouchers were prepared or while those records were held elsewhere.

Mr Sabally said that during one "1-by-6" salary payment cycle, senior managers asked him to return some money to the Receiving Cash Office because the council needed cash. He said he repaid the amounts and received official receipts.

The Government accepted the Commission's recommendations for a surcharge and an economic-crime investigation. A surcharge is a process to recover money if an audit establishes a financial loss and identifies who was responsible.

The Government directed the Auditor General to examine the unsupported cheques. It said recovery proceedings should follow if the audit establishes a specific loss and identifies the responsible officer. The missing vouchers do not, by themselves, prove that Mr Sabally took the money.