A territorial Department of Finance employee is facing eight criminal charges after allegedly defrauding the Yukon government of close to $50,000.
The Yukon RCMP made the announcement in a press release Nov. 18.
According to the release, Whitehorse RCMP received reports on March 1 about Yukon government cheques being fraudulently deposited into other bank accounts outside the territory.
Investigators found that an employee working in the government’s finance department had “personal access” to all outgoing cheques. The offences were allegedly committed on eight different occasions between late December 2018 and the end of May 2019 with at least two of the cheques allegedly deposited into the employee’s personal bank account.
Police arrested Michael Kipkirui, a notary public, on Nov. 12, charging him with four counts each of fraud not exceeding $5,000 and theft under $5,000.
He has since been released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court next in January.
The press release says Whitehorse RCMP’s general investigation section is continuing to investigate.
Kipkirui’s employee page on the Yukon government’s website appears to have been pulled down, but a cached version indicates he worked in the accounts payable unit within the financial operations branch in the Department of Finance.
It’s unclear if he’s still employed.
Contact Jackie Hong a jackie.hong@yukon-news.com