US government agencies may have been double charged for a project in Wuhan, China, records show.probe launched

The US government, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), may have made double payments for a project at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, according to records reviewed by CBS News. There is a nature.

“What I have found so far is evidence of possible double-billing, theft of government funds, and is particularly concerning as it involves dangerous pathogens and dangerous research.” Experience fighting medical fraud.

Cutler found evidence of possible double spending when investigating US government grants supporting high-risk research in China. COVID-19 Pandemic. She was hired by Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who took her record to USAID and USAID’s internal oversight body. USAID has launched a new investigation, the details of which have not previously been reported.

Cutler said he has reviewed more than 50,000 documents to date, suggesting that the U.S. government may have made duplicate payments for medical supplies, medical equipment, travel expenses, and salaries.

A source told CBS News that tens of millions of dollars could be involved.

A source familiar with the grant’s record did not dispute the CBS News report.

A USAID spokeswoman declined to comment. A spokesperson for the USAID inspector general declined to comment “regarding the existence of certain public investigations.” An NIH spokesperson did not respond to CBS News’ questions.

After the broadcast, EcoHealth Alliance’s Peter Daszak wrote to CBS News: [in our report] Double billing and possible theft of government funds are easily refuted. He said the “total amount of grants” we referred to in the report was “a fraction of the amount quoted by our sources, and the work” was not. Dangerous pathogens and dangerous research are involved.” The EcoHealth Alliance is one of the groups that conducted a US-funded coronavirus study in Wuhan, China.

The USAID Inspector General’s investigation is ongoing. A source told CBS News it could take him at least six months to complete an investigation into possible double charges.

Marshall is now asking for a 9/11-style commission.

“I think there are 1.1 million reasons American taxpayers should care,” he said. “You have an airplane. [crash]…I want to know why the plane crashed. We will make every effort to do so. I hope we never have another plane crash for the same reason. ”

Intelligence agencies have been unable to reach consensus on the origins of the pandemic, but the FBI and the Department of Energy have found an accidental laboratory leak plausible. Conducted virus research in the city where the virus first appeared.

Recent congressional hearings Regarding the origin of COVID-19, the House of Representatives voted unanimously on a bill mandating the declassification of information about its origin. Robert Redfield, former director of the CDC, testified that funds from the NIH, State Department, USAID, and the Department of Defense funded research on the high-risk virus in Wuhan.

Editor’s Note: Updated video graphics, updated web version of this report, and added comments on the report by Peter Daszak of the EcoHealth Alliance.