MOSCOW, August 31 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow is willing to cooperate with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in investigating the alleged theft of $1.2 million of the organization's funds by former Russian staff, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
"We are concerned about the situation, and have stated our complete readiness to cooperate with the UNDP in carrying out objective investigations, to ascertain the truth, to expose the guilty staff of the program, and bring them to justice," the statement said.
The ministry expects an official request from the UNDP for cooperation in the investigation, which Russian law enforcement agencies need to receive to become involved.
The UNDP press service in Moscow said that the program's auditors suspect former staff from the organization's Moscow office of stealing $1.2 million.
The UNDP is an independent financial organization of the UN with an annual budget of $3 billion, and carries out projects in 166 countries around the world. Its main goals are to reduce poverty, support economic development, and to resolve global and national development problems.
The program has been working with Russia since 1993, when an agreement was signed with the Russian government. The organization opened an office in Moscow in 1997.
The UNDP currently has regional offices in St. Petersburg and Russia's easternmost city, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It carries out programs both on a federal level and in a number of Russian regions, conducting individual development programs on all levels for these regions.
