(Alliance News) - US Solar Fund PLC on Friday said that the USD6.9 million fraud initially reported in January was not as a result of any internal collusion.
The solar power asset investor said that its investigation revealed that the fraud was an isolated incident originating from outside its investment manager, New Energy Solar.
At the end of last month, US Solar Fund said it had fallen victim to fraud in relation to contracted construction payments made from the US bank account of a USF project company to a third-party US bank account. It said it had launched an investigation in collaboration with US authorities, account banks, the construction counterparty, and insurers.
The investment company said it had recovered USD3.6 million of the funds which had been fraudulently taken, adding that the recovered amount had been placed back into its account for use in ongoing construction. It said it would continue to further investigate the issue with the aim of recovering the rest of the funds.
On Friday, US Solar Fund said it found that its investment manager complied with all relevant processes and procedures when making the payments. However, New Energy Solar has agreed at its own cost, to appoint a global accounting firm - whose name has not been disclosed - to review all its financial processes and controls.
So far, the fraud has not hurt construction schedules or budgets, US Solar Fund said.
The stock was untraded on Friday morning in London, last quoted at USD0.99.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
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Us Solar Fund (USFP)