Review: There is no missing $1.8 billion in South Carolina

There is no missing money in South Carolina.

An independent State Treasury Forensic Accounting Review found there is not more than $1.8 billion sitting in a state account.

On Oct. 31, 2023, South Carolina Comptroller General Brian Gaines sent a letter to South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis, directing Loftis to research the account’s origins. It marked the start of a months-long Senate investigation that exposed what a Senate Finance Committee Constitutional Subcommittee report dubbed “financial irregularities” in the state treasurer’s office, an assertion the treasurer’s office has disputed.

On April 11, 2024, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster convened a meeting with state officials and agency leaders, charging them with determining the purpose and destination of the $1.8 billion. In July 2024, the governor’s office announced that the group had prepared the documentation and information required for the forensic accounting review to start.

Alix Partners conducted the audit.

“This comprehensive forensic accounting report confirms that there is no $1.8 billion surplus,” McMaster said in a statement this week. “There is no missing or stolen money. The funds do not exist.

“It also confirms that there were unintended accounting mistakes made by different parties involved in state government’s transition from an old accounting system to the new accounting system,” the governor added. “I am confident that the corrective measures recommended in the report will be embraced by the parties and the General Assembly so that this does not happen again.”

In a statement, Loftis said residents should be confident after the finding.

“We thank Alix Partners for their efforts, which have validated what we’ve known all along – there is no mystery bank account with $1.8 Billion in it, no missing money, and all cash and investments are accounted for,” Loftis said. “The citizens of South Carolina can be confident that their money is safe. We, along with our state partners, look forward to reviewing the report in its entirety.”