The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has confirmed it charged it filed multiple criminal charges against an administrative officer of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and some accomplices for allegedly stealing at least P12 million in public funds.
In an interview on Saturday, NBI spokesman Palmer Mallari said the irregularities involved benefits intended for regional prosecutors.
The DOJ Payroll Section detected the anomalies in the preparation of the payroll for regional prosecutors, and once the necessary documents were completed, they referred the matter to the NBI for further investigation, Mallari said.
He indicated that the suspect manipulated the so-called “mule accounts” and reactivated payroll accounts of retired, resigned, and inactive prosecutors to redirect the funds.
“Since he handled the payroll, he was able to reactivate these accounts and transfer benefits to illegal mule accounts,” Mallari explained.
He added that the case was referred by the DOJ to the NBI on Dec. 22.
NBI agents subsequently laid out a trap against the suspect at the DOJ Payroll Section in Manila after confirming that government bonuses, including the Performance Enhancement Incentive (PEI) and Special Recognition Incentive (SRI), had been credited to his account.
The NBI said the suspect, along with several cohorts, has been charged with malversation of public funds, qualified theft, graft, and multiple cybercrime-related offenses.
The suspects have been detained.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “DOJ payroll officer arrested over fraud case”
