A former employee of Irish aid agency Goal is facing charges of theft, bribery and witness tampering following an investigation into alleged corruption in US-sponsored aid programmes in Syria.

The US has sought the extradition of former Goal logistics officer Ernest Halilov, who was arrested in the Ukraine last October.

The Turkmenistan national faces a range of charges, according to an indictment that has been unsealed in the District of Columbia.

Among the allegations he is facing is that he bribed a procurement manager at Goal, giving her cash to furnish her apartment in January 2016.

It is also alleged that the following month he paid for her to go on an overnight shopping trip, where she was picked up in a Mercedes Benz, brought to a five-star hotel in Mersin, Turkey, and given a credit card to spend around $1,500 (€1,347). According to the indictment, this was done in exchange for confidential information about the bidding process for a flour contract.

It is claimed the contract was awarded to two bidders affiliated with Mr Halilov.

The indictment says the procurement manager, whose identity was not revealed in the indictment, was asked for her mother’s bank account information so Mr Halilov could wire money without it being traced directly to her. However, the cash was never sent because Goal cancelled the contract before he did it.

Mr Halilov is understood to have worked with Goal for 16 years before departing the aid agency in April 2016.

The charges follow an investigation by the US Inspector General into “alleged supply chain irregularities”, including bid-rigging, relating to US-sponsored aid programmes in Syria.

Goal was rocked by the investigation in 2016, which prompted the temporary suspension of US funding for certain aspects of its aid programme in Syria.

The suspension was soon lifted after the US Agency for International Development (USAID) accepted assurances about changes to Goal’s corporate governance and internal controls.

However, the charity endured a rocky patch after the probe was announced.

The Irish Government held back millions of euro in funding for a period while it sought clarification on the investigation. There were also several departures from the organisation, some linked to the probe and others not.

The most high profile was former chief, and now Fianna Fáil MEP, Barry Andrews, who stepped down after concluding Goal needed “a fresh start in terms of leadership”.

There is absolutely no suggestion he was involved in the alleged corruption.

The crisis led to uncertainty over the future of the aid agency, with auditors saying in January 2017 there was “material uncertainty” due to a dependence on donors.

Subsequent talks about a merger with Oxfam collapsed without a deal.

However, the organisation managed to weather the storm and stabilised itself financially.

If extradited, Mr Halilov is facing two counts of theft and bribery in a federally funded programme and three counts of tampering with a witness.

A Goal spokesperson said: “While Goal is not a party to these legal proceedings, we welcome the fact that progress is being made in bringing this matter to a conclusion.

“It is important that the rigour of the law is brought to bear on any individual who damages the important work being done by humanitarian organisations.”

According to the indictment, as well as the alleged bribing of the procurement manager, Mr Halilov is also alleged to have bribed an agent who was working for Goal and two other non-governmental organisations.

It is alleged that between 2011 and 2012, while she was an agent for Goal, this person altered bid requests for contracts with Goal at Mr Halilov’s instruction.

It is claimed Mr Halilov was allowed select “his vendor” for “high-value” contracts the agent was responsible for.

It is claimed the agent received money, a car, apartment furniture, electronics and plane tickets from Mr Halilov.

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