Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is asking a Saskatchewan First Nations organization to repay nearly $29 million in funding following a forensic audit last year that has now been leaked to the public.

ISC initially disclosed concerns over misspending in September, when it released a summary of a KPMG audit into the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) alleging that between 2019 to 2024, over $34 million in federal grants tied to specific programs were either spent on ineligible purchases or had no supporting documentation to prove where the money went.

Now, leaked copies of the audit are circulating online, revealing more details about the muddled finances at the FSIN, an organization representing the chiefs of 74 Saskatchewan First Nations.

The line-by-line audit was attached to a March 12 letter from the federal ministry reiterating concerns about a lack of supporting records to account for over $23 million in COVID-19 related funding, program funding that went toward the purchase of fleet vehicles and executive compensation, and significant administration fees the FSIN charged to ISC.

KPMG found that nearly $2 million of those administration fees were used in the construction of the FSIN’s new office building and for “economic development.”

“This is inconsistent with FSIN’s funding agreements which limit the use of funding to expenses directly related to carrying out its responsibilities under its agreements,” ISC regional director Rob Harvey writes in the letter.

According to the letter, the FSIN has had multiple meetings with the ministry since September and provided further documentation, but there remains almost $29 million that was either demonstrably misappropriated, or that remains unaccounted for.

Under the contribution agreements the FSIN signed with the federal government, “these amounts are repayable,” the letter says.

The ministry says the FSIN has until April 2 to dispute its calculations or to otherwise respond.