Papua New Guinea police say a special unit has been established to recover of all state assets purchased for the APEC meetings.
Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
The Department of Finance has requested the assistance of police in the recovery of assets purchased over the last three years leading up to and including the APEC Leaders' Summit in November 2018.
This includes a number of high-end vehicles.
The State Asset Recovery unit comes under the command of Superintendent Dennis Corcoran, Director of Police Transport.
Superintendent Corcoran said there was an ongoing problem of misuse and abuse of state assets purchased using the people's money.
The Ombudsman Commission last month gave the government an extension to finalise its APEC inventory, as a number of assets remain missing.
"There are 284 vehicles ... that were issued to personnel to use during APEC that haven't been returned as yet," said Superintendent Corcoran
"All state assets especially vehicles purchased by Government agencies and authorised for certain proposes have been claimed by certain individuals through unlawful means," he added.
"Any one obtained or is in possession of state asset through illegal means will be arrested and charged."
The Superintendent called on those who are in possession of overdue state assets to return them immediately.
He is also appealing to the general public to come forward with any information that will assist in this recovery exercise.
Meanwhile, police have arrested a man who is alleged to have used his position as an officer of the APEC Coordinating Authority to enter the wharf premises in Port Moresby to pry open the fuel caps of the parked APEC vehicles and siphon fuel from them.
