Terry Bond, the former boss of Government training body Investors in People (IIP) who went missing at the same time as its finances, is back on the Island.

Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Robert Horton, who has vehemently denied anything untoward has happened, appealed for Mr. Bond to get in touch.

But he said he could not divulge why Mr. Bond had come back.

He said: “We believe he's in Bermuda and I hope to be in touch.”

Other sources also said Mr. Bond is back.

Mr. Bond left when his contract finished last summer and has never been in touch according to Mr. Horton.

Since then the new board has been looking for records, files, books, accounts, cash, chequebooks, bank account numbers, bank statements, an up-to-date minute book, $25,000 of IIP materials, Mr. Bond's employment contract, details of his pay, pension and health benefits and his termination letter.

The Auditor General is now investigating the case.

Yesterday National Training Board (NTB) boss Michael Stowe said the NTB gave $75,000 a year to the organisation.

He said around $50,000 was missing from the 2003/04 budget as another $25,000 had been withheld because performance documents were never given to the NTB. The IIP programme is reported to have a budget of around $200,000 a year.

He said Government was in contact with the banks to find out what happened to the accounts.

The NTB and IIP comes under the Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Ministry.

Yesterday former Minister Terry Lister said the only relationship the NTB had with the IIP was funding it. “We ran IIP for five years under myself and it ran very well, I am very pleased with IIP and what it has done.

“We had a hand over on 25th of July. When I left the Ministry everything was fine. I had a board there working with the executive officer and I am confident they were doing a good job.”

He said Mr. Bond's contract had not been renewed in accordance with the Government's goal of six-year term limits.

“He had been here that time, although the cut-off doesn't run until 2007 Terry Bond had a mandate to find a Bermudian replacement.

“The board were to run adverts and secure a person to take it over. For various reasons that didn't happen.”

Mr. Lister said he heard, after the event, that Mr. Bond had been anxious to leave Bermuda and did so in the summer.

“Since then what has happened I am not quite sure. To the extent there are monies missing, again, I am not sure.

“I would be surprised if there is anything untoward that's gone on there. I am sure the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs will get right on top of it and sort it out.”

Mr. Bond, a Briton, had joined Government in the late 1990s to help set up the National Training Board before joining IIP in 2001. He was the sole employee and had moved out of his Hamilton office prior to leaving to work from home.

IIP, which was pioneered in the UK in the 1990s, and has spread to Europe and North America, works with firms to encourage employee buy-in and quality assurance.