Alexandr Gorobets: Almost half a billion of US dollars stolen from Ukrainian budget last year

Ukraine is the country where almost everybody steels something, and especially money from the state budget. This was confirmed also by Accounts Chamber of Ukraine. According to its report, facts of non-proper or non-effective use of budget funds in 2001 were registered in the sum of about 1,9 billion of grivnas (about half a billion of USD). As a result of the check-up, the Accounts Chamber brought 11 suits, the chamber’s head Valentin Simonenko reported at the Thursday press-conference devoted to 5th anniversary of this institution. According to Somonenko, over 5 years of the chamber’s existence, about 2,5 thousands checking up actions were carried out, while about 2 thousands objects were checked up and facts of non-proper budged money use were established in the sum of about 12 billion grivnas (more than 2 billion USD). Vasili Nevidomy, director of the chamber’s Control Department of Expenses for Legislation, Defence, Low-Enforcement Bodies and Security, who attended at the press-conference, reported that during the check-up of the Ukrspetsexport state company, in particular of its sale of the army’s outdated property, armament and military equipment, the Defence Ministry additionally received about $ 3 000,000. The main trouble in controlling budget funds use, the head of the Accounts Chamber, V.Simonenko stressed, is that there is no system of financial, economical and taxation policy in Ukraine. “We even did not approach to the system of budget policy,” – he said. V.Simonenko also reported about the Accounts Chamber’s intention to examine in late January water supply of Ukraine’s big cities. The Accounts Chamber that started its work in 1997 is the body of financial and economical control, accountable to the Supreme Rada.

Alexandr Gorobets PRAVDA.Ru Kiev Ukraine

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/01/11/35474.html