ONE of the bank accounts into which Sinn Féin was erroneously paid a £10,000 Covid-19 business support grant is called the 'West Tyrone Sinn Féin Development Fund'.
The name of the account which received the payment relating to MLA Maolíosa McHugh's constituency office in Strabane was confirmed by Stormont's Department of Finance.
In a statement it said: "The payment made to ratepayer name 'Maoliosa McHugh MLA – Strabane Sinn Féin Office' was received into the 'West Tyrone Sinn Féin Development Fund' and was repaid from the same account."
Sinn Féin maintains that Mr McHugh is not a signatory to the account, and the MLA had asked a party official to return the money.
Four people in the party including Senator Elisha McCallion and MLA Catherine Kelly have resigned over a failure to promptly return the relief cash meant for struggling businesses.
MP and MLA constituency offices were not eligible for the Small Business Support Grant Scheme, in which emergency payments were sent automatically to businesses in receipt of small business rates relief.
It became the centre of a political storm after the BBC's Nolan Show revealed three Sinn Féin offices had received £10,000 payments in error and had only returned them last week.
Some 24,700 grants were paid out, but Stormont's economy department says two per cent may not have been eligible.
A Tyrone-based company which rents an office to DUP South Antrim MP Paul Girvan also received a grant in error, which has since been repaid.
SDLP South Belfast MLA Matthew O'Toole questioned the level of "due diligence" when the payments were sent out.
"Though everyone accepts that these payments had to be made at extreme pace, the names on these accounts and payees should have been a giveaway that they were ineligible," he said.
"It begs the question of whether even basic levels of due diligence – such as noticing the names of well-known political parties – are taking place."
Economy Minister Diane Dodds on Monday said that of the 452 payments made incorrectly, 74 have been recouped by her department.
Mrs Dodds said her department would "put in place a full process" to recover ineligible payments.
She told MLAs: "I am content that my department took the necessary swift action to support tens of thousands of businesses and jobs under threat caused by the Covid-19 crisis."
