Richmond, B.C., councillor ‘dumbfounded’ by alleged misuse of city hall gift card program [Video]

A city councillor in Richmond, B.C., is calling for a more fulsome audit of city finances amid a police investigation into alleged misuse of a gift card program.

In a statement on May 15, the City of Richmond said it purchased approximately $446,000 worth of gift cards from 2022 to 2024 as part of an employee recognition program — but found in a recent review that around $295,000 of them were unaccounted for.

Richmond RCMP said their serious crimes section has opened an investigation into the gift card case, which was first reported by Global News.

The city said “an individual’s employment with the City has concluded” following a personnel investigation.

It also said it no longer uses gift cards and would be conducting a forensic audit of the past three years of finances.

Richmond Coun. Kash Heed introduced a motion Tuesday to expand the audit to include the past …