A prominent Northern Ireland civil servant has been sacked after an internal probe revealed tens of thousands of pounds in unexplained spending.
Into the West was set up in 1997 to encourage successful emigrants to North America, Australia and New Zealand to return home to set up businesses in the North, particularly in the Fermanagh and Tyrone areas.
An auditor's report accused the company of poor standards of administration involving considerable sums of public money.
The company was funded by £1.5 million from the five western councils, the International Fund, and the former small business agency, Ledu. It was largely run by its secretary, Mr Joe Doherty (53), Ledu's western area manager, who has been dismissed after most of the transactions on the company's credit cards were found to be unsupported by receipts or invoices.
Mr Doherty, who had been suspended for a lengthy period, will have the right to appeal his dismissal. During a four-year period, the company sponsored at least 22 trips abroad to destinations including Sydney, Auckland and Honolulu.
Amounts for which receipts were not provided by Mr Doherty include £887 which he said was for a laptop computer and printer, £62 for a pizza in Enniskillen, and £747 for a meal in Boston, including a £134 tip.
Mr John McKinney, who was chief executive of Omagh District Council, was Into the West's chairman.
He and Mr Doherty were the only signatories of the company Visa card, on which bills of around £200,000 were run up.
Mr McKinney left these posts two years ago to take up a position as chief executive of the cross-Border European Special Programmes Body.
Sinn Féin yesterday said he should consider resigning his post. The Alliance Party said his position was untenable. Northern Ireland Office Enterprise Minister, Mr Ian Pearson, said he was shocked by the conclusions of the 15-month investigation.