OTTAWA, Ont. — An external audit has been ordered by the Salvation Army, after $240, 000 disappeared from the Ottawa Booth Centre in the Byward Market.

In a statement, the charity says auditors uncovered the missing money, prompting them to fire Executive Director Perry Rowe, who had held the position for the last eight years.

The charity says the money went missing in increments over a “period of time,” and that the external audit will investigate the last eight years.

The charity maintains the missing money is not from donations, but from government funding, and that it will not affect the running of programs for the homeless or others in need.