Red Cross officials took advantage of Ebola outbreak for frauds of more than € 5 million

The outbreak that has affected West Africa between 2014 and 2016 has forced "one of the most complex (interventions) in recent humanitarian history" and several staff members of the organization took advantage of the situation

Red Cross said on Saturday it had discovered scams carried out during actions aimed at tackling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, which injured the organization at around 5.2 million euros.

In a statement, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was "shocked" by the finding and "it ensures that any officials involved will be held accountable."

The organization stresses that emergency intervention "was one of the most complex in recent humanitarian history." Several groups rushed to the field, deploying staff, mobilizing volunteers and investing tens of millions of euros in medical equipment and other supplies,

In Sierra Leone, the organization has found data that point to "likely collusion" between its former employees and a bank, in a scheme that injured the organization at 1.8 million euros.

In Equatorial Guinea the over-invoicing and false invoices of a customs agent cost the organization another million euros. And two further investigations are being prepared on cases in this country.

Previously, the organization had already found that inflated prices for humanitarian aid articles and salary payments resulted in a loss of € 2.3 million in Liberia.

The Red Cross says that since 2014 it has stepped up its efforts to eliminate corruption in its internal operations, including setting spending limits by deploying auditors with its teams.

SAISI