A recent audit has revealed significant issues with salary and employment conditions in the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE). The National Audit Office, which supervises public authorities, has found several rule violations in a sample of 15 managers in the spy agency. One of the most striking errors is that a manager has been overpaid 130,000 Danish kroner for over a year.
The report from the National Audit Office, presented by Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen (V) to the Defence Committee, indicates that FE’s management of salary and employment conditions “is far below the level that can be expected of a state employment authority”. This criticism comes after news agency Ritzau previously obtained insight into a part of the report, which showed errors in the registration of working hours at FE.
One specific case describes how a manager was placed on a higher salary level than agreed, resulting in an overpayment of approximately 130,000 kroner from May 2022 to August 2023. In another case, another manager received double pension from May 2023 to August 2023, amounting to an overpayment of 46,000 kroner.
In addition, FE has not been able to document managers’ fixed salaries in three cases, as employment contracts could not be provided. The National Audit Office therefore recommends that FE promptly reviews all managers’ salary and employment conditions to ensure compliance with the rules.
Of the 58 cases investigated by the National Audit Office, errors were found in 31 percent of cases. For example, rule violations were found in 8 out of 13 cases of overtime and extra work.
Acting FE chief Svend Larsen stated in a written comment that FE takes the National Audit Office’s criticism very seriously and has initiated a comprehensive modernization of financial management. “We are in the process of rectifying the issues pointed out by the National Audit Office,” writes Svend Larsen.
According to Ekstra Bladet, FE is also expected to save over 100 million kroner from an annual budget of 1.4 billion kroner, but this has not been confirmed by FE or the Minister of Defence. Troels Lund Poulsen has previously expressed great concern over the mess in the accounts and emphasized that the state may not cover any potential deficit.
FE is now under intensified supervision by the National Audit Office, and the minister has requested an overview of the potential financial problems in the spy agency.