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$850,000 was returned to the Future Fund in April 2012, he said.
• "They never used the increase that he authorized," Venhuizen said.
• Venhuizen said he didn't know what prompted the decision to return the funds.
• The audit called the use of the $550,000 for loan fees "a matter between private parties and consequently not within the scope of our audit," wrote Auditor General Martin Guindon. But the report did find a "material weakness in policies and procedures concerning potential conflict of interest" and suggested that the Governor's Office of Economic Development create a disclosure policy.
• Rounds said he agrees with that recommendation. But he added that he didn't know that Benda was negotiating to work for SDRC and the development board, not the governor's office, signed off on the additional funds.
• "It is a separate board, and it does not come through the governor's office," Rounds said.
• Jackley said Thursday that the auditor general's findings are consistent with his investigation on both the voucher issue and the conduct surrounding the $550,000 Future Fund grant. He commended Daugaard and economic development director Pat Costello in their efforts to strengthen the financial controls within the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
• Jackley's investigation, which was first reported in November, also found that Benda had double-billed the state for three flights.
• In October, Daugaard announced an investigation into possible financial misconduct before his administration. The news came a day after Benda's funeral.
• SDRC is a privately held Aberdeen company that recruited foreign investors for the failed Northern Beef Packers plant and other ventures in the state. The Governor's Office of Economic Development for years contracted with SDRC to administer the federal EB-5 program, in which foreign investors can secure permanent residency for as little as $500,000. South Dakota has since canceled the contract.
• No charges have been filed, but a federal investigation into the use of the EB-5 program in South Dakota is ongoing.
• Northern Beef opened on a limited basis in 2012 after years of delays, but the company filed for bankruptcy protection in July because it lacked money to buy cattle for slaughter.
• San Francisco-based investment banking firm White Oak Global Advisors submitted the winning $44.3 million credit-and-cash bid for the idled plant in December. The sale closing is pending court approval.
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