LIVE UPDATES: Senate holds hearing on whether to remove state Treasurer Curtis Loftis

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) — South Carolina senators will hold a hearing Monday to decide whether Treasurer Curtis Loftis should lose his job over his office’s involvement in a $1.8 billion accounting error.

A panel investigating the error recommended last month that Loftis be removed for willful neglect after a private audit determined that much of the money never existed and resulted from a mistake during the bank conversion process.

The audit further found that Loftis, the comptroller general and state auditor knew about the problem well before it was reported to the General Assembly. Both former Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom and Auditor George Kennedy resigned.

Loftis, however, has defiantly denied any wrongdoing and blasted the effort to oust him as a “witch hunt.”

A removal hearing is set to begin at noon. Follow below for live updates: