Police on two continents want to interview a former employee of Goal, the Third World charity, about an alleged fraud of $28,000 (about £19,500).
The man being sought is from the Leinster area and had been working in Kenya for Goal. He is understood to have remained in Kenya for some time after the money disappeared. However, he was recently seen in Dublin by other former Goal workers.
The money involved in the alleged fraud came from an insurance settlement after a Goal vehicle was involved in an accident in Tanzania two years ago. The funds were removed from an account in a bank in Dar-es-Salaam, the Tanzanian capital, in September last year.
The money was allegedly withdrawn from the account through the use of a forged signature and it has not been recovered by the agency. The man being sought had access to the account.
Police in Kenya and Tanzania want to question the former employee and it is understood that Interpol is involved in the inquiry. Goal officials have also sought to contact him. It could not be established last night if the Garda was involved in the investigation.
Senior Goal personnel could not be contacted for comment.
The alleged fraud is not believed to be connected to Goal's recent difficulties, which led to funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs being withdrawn. EU fraud investigators also recommended that funds to Goal be suspended because of alleged inadequacies in its accounts. The EU decision was not based on any suspicion of fraud.
The Department has indicated that the relief agency's funding will be resumed once an audit of its accounts is completed and any measures considered necessary are put in place.