The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) is understood to have expressed its willingness to be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in May last year and its auditors had initiated the process in phases.
KIIFB authorities had informed the Accountant General on May 17, 2018 that it is being scrutinised by an independent audit mechanism, the Fund Trustee and Advisory Commission headed by former CAG Vinod Rai, which is directly accountable to the legislature.
Since the outflow from the Consolidated Fund is involved and the CAG is empowered under Section 14 (1) C&AG Act to take a call on whether a suo motu audit of the accounts of KIIFB is warranted, the KIIFB letter said.
As per Section 14, if grant or loan to a body like KIIFB in a financial year is not less than ₹25 lakh and the expended amount is not less than 75% of the total amount provided, the CAG can audit all its receipts and expenditure.
The AG on December 10, 2018 informed KIIFB that an audit party would visit the office from December 17. The audit that began in December was temporarily suspended on February 2, 2019 “due to diversion of audit team for other works.”
Another letter from AG on April 30 said the second spell would begin tentatively from May 7. Both letters had warned that on failing to furnish the records it would “warrant filing of an FIR under Section 175/186 of IPC against the custodian.”
Finance Department sources said that Section 14 of the CAG Act empowers its personnel to audit all receipts and expenditure of bodies like KIIFB.
