Jobs have been terminated over alleged irregularities within the National Drug Commission (NDC).

Finance Minister Paula Cox revealed the news as the House of Assembly debated and passed the latest report of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

A report from then Auditor General Larry Dennis, published in February, revealed that more than $20 million of National Drug Commission funds was spent with no accountability.

Ninety credit card transactions — totalling $13,000 — were deemed suspect by Mr. Dennis, with almost none of them recorded in the Commission's accounts book.

He reported that the NDC's executive secretary fraudulently secured $3,290 for airfares for her relatives in the year ending March 2005.

He also reported that in 2005 somebody used NDC cash to buy a Sony laptop which is now nowhere to be seen — with the same individual allowed to request, authorise and receive assets in the Department.

He recommended a Police investigation.

A Police spokesman later confirmed detectives planned to meet with the Auditor General to discuss his findings and commented: "The Bermuda Police Service will investigate formal complaints into circumstances where there is apparent criminal conduct."

The concerns over the NDC have been dealt with via a number of reports by the PAC.

During the debate in the House of Assembly early on Saturday morning, Grant Gibbons, of the United Bermuda Party, asked for an update on whether a Police investigation had taken place. He also asked what happened to civil servants who were supposed to be overseeing the NDC.

Deputy Premier Ms Cox replied: "There was certainly action taken, there was certainly disciplinary action, employment loss, and in terms of whether there's criminal charges pending, the Minister who has responsibility might be better placed than I, but certainly I know there was the most active approach taken to make sure that there were sanctions, and sanctions at the highest level which had consequences for persons' livelihoods."

This newspaper e-mailed the Minister responsible for the NDC, Neletha Butterfield, yesterday to ask who had lost their jobs and what the status of the Police investigation was.

She replied that answers had been given earlier this year and that she could not assist further as she was at an overseas meeting. The answers could not be found on The Royal Gazette's archives.

Questions were also asked, during the PAC debate, over the "false cheque" scandal, which saw forged cheques doctored to make it look like the Premier and the Works Minister received kickbacks.

The PAC's report found that disgruntled workers may have been responsible for the bogus cheques made out to Premier Ewart Brown and Works and Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess discovered in the files at the Ministry of Works and Engineering in February last year.

Government Chief Architect Lawrence Brady was arrested and questioned over the matter last April but released without charge.

The committee said it was satisfied the matter was fully investigated and no further action would be taken.

Minister without Portfolio Zane DeSilva said in the House on Saturday that he was on the PAC before he was made a minister and knew that another member, Walter Lister, requested a letter be sent to the Governor over the cheques issue "to ask for some assistance."

He asked if the Governor ever sent a reply, and if so, asked what it was.

Committee chairman Bob Richards, the Shadow Finance Minister, paraphrased the reply as being that "the matter of the cheques was fully investigated and... no future action would be taken".

The Premier responded by calling across the floor of the House: "In Bermuda you mean? We are investigating in Canada."

He has previously said the cheques were produced in Canada and "redress" would be sought in the courts there.

Dr. Brown told this newspaper yesterday: "My office will issue a statement next week re the status of [the] Canadian investigation into the forged cheques."