South Carolina lawmakers are working to unravel a mysterious $1.8 billion state bank account, with officials unsure where the money came from or what it was intended to fund. It states that there is no.
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster assured the public Tuesday that “there was no loss of money.” The bank account appears to be the result of the state’s ongoing accounting troubles stemming from a computer system migration in the late 2010s.
The South Carolina Senate created a committee to investigate the funding. Republican state senator Larry Grooms, who is leading this effort, describes the situation as follows: “When you go to a bank, the bank president tells you there’s a lot of money in a safe, but you don’t know who it belongs to.” He likened it to a situation where “there is no such thing.”
Investigators are still trying to unravel the mess, but lawmakers say it appears that whenever the state’s books failed, money was moved from somewhere to another account to balance the books.
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South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis smiles during the state Office of Fiscal Responsibility meeting on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Related news organizations)
Republican Finance Secretary Curtis Loftis would not comment on the cash, saying only that they were successful in obtaining about $200 million in interest for the state. He blames Comptroller Brian Gaines for a lack of information about where the money is going.
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Loftis claimed earlier this month that Gaines was “trying to shift responsibility for cleaning up the mess to the Treasury Secretary.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said the state would put its spending plan on hold until it can confirm whether the $1.8 billion was intended for other uses.
Both Loftis and Gaines were called to appear on Grooms’ panel. Grooms noted that while Gaines has answered all of lawmakers’ questions in the investigation so far, Loftis has not.
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Gov. McMaster said he would put the spending plan on hold until the state could confirm whether the $1.8 billion was intended for other uses.
“This is a lot of money, and there’s no need to rush to spend it,” McMaster said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
