Russian Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin blasted on Tuesday the work of the state agency that constructs border facilities saying it was using non-transparent financing schemes.
Rogozin said the Russian president and the government has repeatedly called on the Russian Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border Facilities (Rosgranitsa) to focus on the construction of the facilities for the APEC-2012 summit in the Far East and for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Seven border checkpoints were supposed to be ready by the APEC summit in Vladivostok, which was held in September, but only one was put into operation.
“The summit is over and the current readiness of the majority of checkpoints remains at 20 percent,” Rogozin said.
The agency also pledged to open the VIP hall for Olympic officials and delegations at the international airport in Sochi in 2012, he said, but later moved the deadline to 2013.
“We are soon hosting the Olympics. Where are the guarantees that it will be ready in 2013?” Rogozin asked.
The official raised the issue of disproportionate financing of the border facilities across Russia ordering the agency to settle the issue and prepare a report.
“There were 53 million rubles [$1.7 million] allocated in 2011 for the Khabarovsk territory that has 35 checkpoints, while Makhachkala [in Dagestan] with 14 checkpoints received 178.8 million rubles. This is interesting North Caucasus math,” he said.
Dmitry Bezdelov, the head of Rosgranitsa, said commenting on Rogozin’s criticism that his agency’s spending is defined by the government and, moreover, the deputy premier cited incorrect figures.
