Invest Atlanta to review $40k check for ex-mayor Reed's So. Africa trip

After an hour behind closed doors in an executive session, the Invest Atlanta board voted unanimously to create an ad hoc committee to perform an independent review of a $40,000 transaction between the city and its nonprofit fundraising arm, Partners For Prosperity.

Channel 2 Action News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported that Atlanta City Council in December approved $40,000 of unclaimed salary from former Mayor Kasim Reed being donated to Partners for Prosperity, which had less than $1,000 in its bank account and had never contributed money to Invest Atlanta or any of its projects.

But on March 5, the non-profit wrote a check for $40,000 back to the city. The money was used to cover a portion of an expensive and controversial trip Reed and several members of his staff took to South Africa in Spring 2017.

The transaction was named in a federal subpoena delivered to the city earlier this month in relation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office widening corruption investigation at Atlanta City Hall.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Belcher spoke with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms today after the meeting, as well as Invest Atlanta's CEO who is named in the subpoenas.