- The South Carolina government has discovered that one of its bank accounts contains $1.8 billion, but they have no idea who put the money there or why
- Sen. Larry Grooms said his investigative panel still has no information from the state treasury’s office about where the money should go.
The South Carolina government has discovered that one of its bank accounts contains $1.8 billion, but they have no idea who put the money there or why.
The state’s top accountant, the elected Republican comptroller general, resigned last year when his department began duplicating higher education accounts, resulting in a $3.5 billion miscalculation on paper.
Senator Larry Grooms, who is leading the investigation into the money mystery, said his investigative panel still has no information from the state treasury office on where the money should go.
“It’s like going into your bank and the bank president tells you we have a lot of money in our safe, but we just don’t know who it belongs to,” Grooms says. AP.
Until the source of the money is determined, Groom has proposed legislation that would allow him to move the large sum into a “lockbox” account, where interest will accrue.
The state’s top accountant, the elected Republican comptroller general, resigned last year when his department began duplicating higher education accounts, resulting in a $3.5 billion miscalculation on paper.
Republican Treasurer Curtis Loftis claimed to have invested the money in the mystery account and generated nearly $200 million in interest for the state
Senator Larry Grooms, who is leading the investigation into this money mystery, said his investigative panel still has no information from the Treasury Department on where the money should go.
Until the source of the money is determined, Groom proposed legislation that would allow him to move the large sum into a “lockbox” account, where interest will accrue.
The shift in the state’s computer system in 2010 was the original cause of the problem.
Senate leaders have said that while investigative accountants are still working to cut through the chaos, it appears that money has been moved from one place to another to balance the state’s finances when they were out of balance.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved a proposal, now headed to the House, that would allow voters to decide whether to give the comptroller general an appointed position.
Unless the treasurer can explain why the money in this account even exists.
State officials have not been provided with any information that would have revealed the source of the $1.8 billion, and the reason behind the bank account errors remains unresolved.
‘It doesn’t inspire confidence. But the good news is that no money has been lost,” said Republican Governor Henry McMaster.
Republican Treasurer Curtis Loftis claimed to have invested the money in the mystery account and generated nearly $200 million in interest for the state.
Senate leaders have alleged that money was moved from one place to another to balance the state’s finances when they were out of balance
The Senate approved a proposal, now headed to the House, that would allow voters to decide whether to give the comptroller general an appointed position
This raised concerns about Loftis’ failure to inform the general assembly of the existence of money they had set aside for state agencies or that might be in a trust fund.
In a March 14 letter to Grooms, Loftis said not only that this was not his office’s job, but that the comptroller general is “attempting to transfer responsibility for cleaning up the mess to the Treasurer.”
Loftis said his team investigated the account for thousands of hours and were denied access to materials or a meeting with the comptroller general’s office.