A report by ABC News reveals that senior staff members at Papua New Guinea’s climate change response agency are facing charges of corruption and misappropriation involving more than AU$ 2 million (US$ 1.3 million ) in public funds. The allegations came to light after two whistleblowers alerted the police. Ivan Aipi, the finance manager at the Climate Change and Development Authority, was arrested in connection with the investigation.

Mr. Aipi faces 35 charges, including the 'illegal' issuance of checks benefiting the agency’s acting managing director, Willian Lakain. Additional court documents allege that Mr. Aipi's magistrate wife attempted to bribe an investigating police officer.

One of the whistleblowers is Alfred Rungol, a senior official at the climate agency who also served as an expert for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). On one account, in May 2022, Mr. Rungol claimed that two senior officials attending a UNFCCC meeting in Germany sought to transfer PGK 45,000 (equivalent to US$ 12,000 ) to their private accounts as reimbursement, despite the UN agency supposedly covering trip expenses. Following these revelations, Mr. Rungol was dismissed over unrelated allegations.

The array of allegations against Mr. Aipi, as outlined by the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Major Crimes Unit, include charges of official corruption, abuse of power, and misappropriation of funds. Police allege that the agency misused the aforementioned amount between August 2022 and March 2023, which involved nearly AU$150,000 (US$ 97,000 ) spent on hotel accommodations with minimal impact on combating climate change. The allegations also suggest that Mr. Aipi manipulated established procurement procedures to facilitate the issuance of illicit cheques to the managing director.

In response to the media reports, Mr. Lakain, who has not been arrested, vehemently denied the claims, asserting that the money had been fully accounted for. He defended the expenditure on accommodations, deeming it 'justified.' Additionally, he characterised the whistleblower's revelations as 'defamatory' and detrimental to his agency's reputation.