Audit reveals theft of cash for Chechen reconstruction

Former Russian Premier Sergei Stepashin, who currently heads the Russian Audit Chamber, said in Moscow on 1 December that he has asked prosecutors to investigate two unnamed finance and economy ministry officials suspected of embezzling some $2 million allocated for reconstruction projects in Chechnya, Reuters reported. He said that officials from the Chechen administration may also be involved. But Finance Minister Kudrin denied that any serious irregularities have occurred. Kudrin's deputy Tatyana Nestorenko also rejected Stepashin's charge that funding for the rebuilding program for Chechnya was suspended in July. She said all government instructions and obligations with regard to reconstruction are being fully implemented, according to ITAR-TASS. Also on 1 December, Chechen interim administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov told journalists in Moscow that if funding for reconstruction, especially of housing, does not improve within 5-6 months, the situation in Chechnya "may become uncontrollable," Interfax reported. LF
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