The State Supreme Audit Office's report on the Social Security Institute has made public the results of an extensive audit, which has highlighted a number of significant violations in the payment process for beneficiaries.
According to the document, from the control carried out by the Payment Control Sector, various cases of irregularities have been identified, ranging from duplicate payments, payments made after the death of beneficiaries, to amounts larger than necessary or payments made outside the established deadlines.
During 2024 alone, 821 such cases were identified in all regions of the country, which caused a financial damage of 36,919,340 lek to the budget. By the end of the year, on December 31, 2024, 29,059,735 lek were recovered, through 4,479,368 lek from postal commissions, 19,119,020 lek collected at the bank and 5,461,347 lek recovered through postal orders.
However, 7,859,605 lek still remain to be collected, which requires further administrative and legal follow-up, the report states.
Serious violations also in Shkodra
The audit has identified other significant irregularities in the Shkodra region. 46 cases of payments made with mandates without the pensioner's signature have been identified, a violation that raises questions about the control and verification of documentation. Of these, 33 cases were detected through the TIMS system, with a total value of 13,299,538 lek, while another 13 cases constitute irregular payments worth 418,447 lek.
Over 11 thousand payments after the death of beneficiaries
Another worrying finding relates to payments made after the death of beneficiaries. During the period January-December 2024 alone, 11,030 cases were registered, causing a damage of 114,885,368 lek, which includes all cases of withdrawal after the date of death, as well as cases where the pension beneficiary himself withdrew the pension, but passed away in the same month.
Despite the measures taken, by the end of the year 100,158,608 lek had been recovered, while 647 cases, with a value of 14,726,760 lek, still remain uncollected and require continued follow-up.
Audit recommendations
The auditors request the SSSI to significantly accelerate the administrative and legal procedures for the recovery of the remaining amount of 36,604,305 lek, continuing cooperation with the post office and second-tier banks.
The report also highlights the need to strengthen ex-ante control mechanisms to avoid the recurrence of these problems in the future.
Strengthening control and transparency, according to the auditors, will help reduce financial losses, increase efficiency in the management of public funds, and fully return unjustified expenditures to the state budget. /Ekofin.al/
