MOM: OVERCHARGED FOREIGN WORKER LEVIESAuditors found that MOM charged foreign worker levies above stipulated rates for work permit holders in the marine shipyard sector from January 2026.This resulted in about S$4.82 million in overcharges over two months.The discrepancy arose because revised levy rates were implemented before the corresponding subsidiary legislation was updated.“MOM informed us that it had since updated the levy rates in the subsidiary legislation, which took effect on Jun 1, 2026,” the AGO report said, adding that the ministry will refund affected firms through offsets.The ministry said it has tightened processes, including ensuring legal changes are in force before system implementation and introducing additional checks to prevent similar lapses.MOE: POSSIBLE FALSIFIED APPROVAL EMAILSThe Ministry of Education (MOE) has lodged a police report after possible falsification of approval emails relating to the appointment of new officers.The AGO said it had selected 22 officer appointment cases between April and December last year for checks on whether proper approvals had been obtained.“Following our request for supporting documents, MOE informed us of possible falsified approval emails,” AGO said.Government agencies are required to obtain approval from the relevant authority before making an offer of appointment.“We noted weaknesses in the appointment process, which in our view, did not provide adequate assurance that there was proper scrutiny by the approving authority to ensure that the appointments were supported and justified,” the AGO report said.According to the report, MOE said the process relied heavily on manual procedures due to the ministry’s operational context and high recruitment volume, creating “potential vulnerabilities to unauthorised human interventions”.In a statement, MOE said it takes the matter very seriously, adding that the officer responsible has been dismissed from service.The ministry said candidates undergo formal recruitment processes, including panel assessments, and that appointments must be approved by the appropriate authority before offers are made.To address the lapses, MOE said it has introduced independent checks to verify that all appointments have received the required approvals. It is also working to automate its staff appointment processes to reduce manual work, as well as strengthen internal controls by end-2027.“MOE remains committed to upholding public trust through strong governance and continuous improvement of our processes,” the ministry said.MINDEF: POSSIBLE IRREGULARITIES IN QUOTATIONS Auditors flagged possible irregularities in quotations used by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to determine the cost of works to be done, raising concerns over whether authentic bids were obtained and if reasonable market rates were paid.The findings came from checks on 68 sets of procurement documents linked to payments totalling S$10.57 million, of which 20 sets - relating to payments totalling S$4.41 million - contained quotations with potential issues.“MINDEF said that it took the issues we raised seriously and had since lodged a police report,” the AGO report stated.“It would also strengthen its processes, such as introducing additional price reasonableness assessment for expected high-usage and high-value items.”In response to CNA queries, MINDEF said it had followed established whole-of-government procurement processes to assess whether the proposed costs were reasonable and that the possible irregularities highlighted by AGO were not detected through those processes.The ministry also said it has reviewed its procurement processes and introduced measures to strengthen the review and management of vendor quotations, including training staff using lessons from the audit findings and expanding its pool of vendors to broaden price comparisons and reduce reliance on a smaller group of suppliers.URA: FEE SHORTFALL, IT PROCUREMENT IRREGULARITYThe Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) was found to have undercharged about S$1.76 million in application fees for planning and conservation permissions between April 2022 and March 2025.The shortfall arose from how fees were computed for applications involving multiple development matters on the same site. Instead of charging for each component, URA charged only the highest applicable fee.URA said its approach was based on a cost-recovery principle, where multiple development matters within a single application were assessed together and charged according to the most extensive component. It added that this approach avoided double-charging for overlapping work and had been consistently applied for years. The Ministry of National Development has since amended the relevant rules to align them with URA's principle of charging based on cost recovery in such scenarios, a spokesperson for the agency told CNA.Separately, auditors flagged possible irregularities in IT procurements worth about S$600,000 awarded by URA between 2023 and 2025."These included indications that they could be related to the awarded vendor through personnel connections, and that their bids might not have been genuine," said the AGO, raising concerns over fair competition.URA said it has reported the case to law enforcement agencies and taken steps to tighten screening and oversight.