https://sputnikglobe.com/20230217/us-inspectors-general-say-willing-to-send-auditors-to-front-lines-to-scrutinize-ukraine-aid-1107557568.html
US Inspectors General Say Willing to Send Auditors to Front Lines to Scrutinize Ukraine Aid
US Inspectors General Say Willing to Send Auditors to Front Lines to Scrutinize Ukraine Aid
Sputnik International
A group of top US oversight officials have indicated their willingness to follow US military aid to Ukraine up to the front lines of the conflict, to ensure the money and materiel is being used for its intended purpose.
2023-02-17T20:48+0000
2023-02-17T20:48+0000
2023-02-17T20:48+0000
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The Biden administration has allocated some $113 billion in economic and military aid for Kiev over the last year, helping to turn Ukraine’s conflict with Russia into a NATO proxy war. However, despite the incredible amount of money being poured in, Washington has allocated comparatively little oversight. Critics have said the funds will be spent or sent elsewhere or otherwise embezzled without proper auditing - something the Pentagon has failed for several years in a row.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a resolution in the wake of the election calling for Ukraine aid to be audited, which garnered significant support from her GOP colleagues. In addition, a group of far-right Republicans that included Greene introduced a non-binding resolution in the House last week calling for the US to “end its military and financial aid to Ukraine” and "urges all combatants to reach a peace agreement."Nicole Angarella, the acting deputy inspector general for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), an arm of the US State Department, also told US media that “we have been as creative and you know, out of the box, forward-leaning with the oversight we’ve been able to accomplish so far. But for real comprehensive, robust oversight, it can’t be done remotely.”So far, auditors have relied on the small staff at the US embassy in Kiev and a scattered network of officials in nearby countries to help them track the flow of money to Ukraine. The US State Department has severely limited the number of staff in Kiev since the situation in the country began to seriously deteriorate ahead of the launching of Russia’s special operation in February 2022.Of particular concern is the Kiev government’s reputation for corruption, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reshuffling his government last month. Ukrainian security services also raided the home of Ihor Kolomoisky, a former owner of the largest Ukrainian bank, PrivatBank, who was swept up in an embezzlement investigation of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company and its largest refiner, respectively. The two companies were nationalized late last year.Russia launched the special operation in response to a dramatic escalation of Kiev's eight-year-long assault on the Donbass, a majority-Russophone region that at the time was part of Ukraine. The operation aimed to end the attacks as well as eliminate the danger of NATO placing offensive weapons on Ukrainian soil that could be used against Russia. The operation came after months of failed negotiations in which Washington dismissed Moscow's security red lines as "non-starters."
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us inspectors general, ukraine, military aid, front lines, auditors
us inspectors general, ukraine, military aid, front lines, auditors
US Inspectors General Say Willing to Send Auditors to Front Lines to Scrutinize Ukraine Aid
A group of top US oversight officials have indicated their willingness to follow US military aid to Ukraine up to the front lines of the conflict, to ensure the money and materiel is being used for its intended purpose.
The Biden administration has allocated some $113 billion in economic and military aid for Kiev over the last year, helping to turn Ukraine’s conflict with Russia into a NATO proxy war. However, despite the incredible amount of money being poured in, Washington has allocated comparatively little oversight. Critics have said the funds will be
spent or sent elsewhere or otherwise embezzled without proper auditing - something the Pentagon has failed for several years in a row.
After Republicans won a majority in the US House of Representatives in November 2022, they pledged new oversight for the aid, of which many in the party are skeptical as a sound financial decision.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a resolution in the wake of the election calling for Ukraine aid to be audited, which garnered significant support from her GOP colleagues. In addition, a group of far-right Republicans that included Greene introduced a non-binding resolution in the House last week calling for the US to “end its military and financial aid to Ukraine” and "urges all combatants to reach a peace agreement."
“It’s an incredibly large amount of assistance to flow to a single government or to a single purpose” in a “very short time,” Diana Shaw, the deputy inspector general for the US State Department, told US media on Friday. “Any fraud, waste, abuse that would divert that funding from its intended purpose risks jeopardizing the continued flow of that assistance.”
Nicole Angarella, the acting deputy inspector general for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), an arm of the US State Department, also told US media that “we have been as creative and you know, out of the box, forward-leaning with the oversight we’ve been able to accomplish so far. But for real comprehensive, robust oversight, it can’t be done remotely.”
“The closer we are, the more comprehensive oversight will be,” Angarella added.
So far, auditors have relied on the small staff at the US embassy in Kiev and a scattered network of officials in nearby countries to help them track the flow of money to Ukraine. The US State Department has severely limited the number of staff in Kiev since the situation in the country began to seriously deteriorate ahead of the launching of Russia’s special operation in February 2022.
Of particular concern is the Kiev government’s reputation for corruption, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reshuffling his government last month. Ukrainian security services also raided the home of Ihor Kolomoisky, a former owner of the largest Ukrainian bank, PrivatBank, who was swept up in an embezzlement investigation of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company and its largest refiner, respectively. The two companies were nationalized late last year.
Russia launched the special operation in response to a dramatic escalation of Kiev's eight-year-long assault on the Donbass, a majority-Russophone region that at the time was part of Ukraine. The operation aimed to end the attacks as well as eliminate the danger of NATO placing offensive weapons on Ukrainian soil that could be used against Russia. The operation came after months of failed negotiations in which Washington dismissed Moscow's security red lines as "non-starters."
