Republican fundraisers' ex-auditor under scrutiny

By JoAnne Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fundraising arm for Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday its former treasurer is under investigation for the unauthorized transfers of "several hundred thousand dollars" of its funds that appear to have landed in his personal accounts.

The National Republican Congressional Committee said that after it learned bogus financial statements had been submitted to its bank dating back to 2002, it contacted the FBI, which began a criminal investigation.

Christopher Ward, a consultant to the committee and its former treasurer, was dismissed in January. He had worked for the committee since 1995.

Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, The Washington Post first reported that the FBI was investigating what appears to be a "significant amount of money" missing from the committee.

The committee's chairman, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, said in a statement, "The evidence we have today indicates we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual."

The Washington Post said that according to Federal Election Commission records, Ward was listed as treasurer for 83 Republican fundraising committees over the past eight years.

The newspaper said a review of those records showed that in the past five years, Ward oversaw the accounting for committees that raised more than 400 million dollars, $368 million of it at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

In a preliminary report on its probe, the committee said it appears likely that over a period of several years Ward made "several hundred thousand dollars in unauthorized transfers of NRCC funds" to outside committees whose bank accounts he had access to.