NEWS
30YO HIBIKI WHISKY GIFTED TO POMPEO BY JAPAN WENT MISSING IN US STATE GIFT VAULT
By Susan Lewis
9-11-2021
Source: Suntory
A bottle of 30-year-old Hibiki Whisky gifted to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by Japanese government has disappeared from the gift vault of the US State Department.
The department's inspector general said that the gift vault was found to be in “a state of disarray” when the Biden administration took office in January.
In a report, the inspector general said the USD5,800 bottle was gifted by the Japanese government in 2019, along with a 22-karat gold commemorative coin worth USD560. The items were reported missing in August in along with other items in a notice filed in the Federal Register.
“I have no idea how the State Department lost this thing,” Pompeo told Fox News in a recent statement.
Last week, the inspector general revealed that some of the missing items had been located, but confirmed the bottle of 30-year-old Hibiki remained unaccounted for.
It said records showed that 77 people had entered the vault 3,051 times between 3 August 2020 and 31 January 2021.
Many of those people had left the government by the time the inspector general began the investigation and could not be compelled to speak about their actions or access to the vault, the report said.
It said new safeguards and controls are needed to ensure that gifts to senior US officials are properly kept.
It is understood that US government officials can only keep a gift valued at USD390 or lower. If they really want to keep a gift of higher value, they have to purchase the item from the Treasury Department.
Unless being purchased, all valuable gift items from foreign governments are stored in gift vault of the State Department.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
**IF YOU THINK THE WINE CHRONICLE IS WORTH SUPPORTING, PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TO HELP US IMPROVE AND CONTINUE OUR WORK**
TRENDING│ FOCUS│ MISSION│ ABOUT US│ CONTACT
| 