17 December 2009, 08:43
Mykola Tomenko, Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stated that he had received a response from the Main Control and Revision Office of Ukraine to his deputy´s inquiry. This inquiry addressed the monitoring bodies with a request to study appropriation of State Budget funds allocated for the construction of the Memorial Complex in Memory of Holodomor Victims.
In his inquiry, M.Tomenko stressed that UAH 133 million were allocated from the State Budget for the Memorial Complex in Memory of Holodomor Victims "Svichka Pamiati" ("A Candle of Memory") constructed in the Park of Glory in Kyiv on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Holodomor 1932-1933.
The Main Control and Revision Office of Ukraine informed that the funds were appropriated with the violation of certain normative and legal acts that regulate activity in the construction sector and use of budget funds. As of 04.08.2008 (the day the agreement was signed), municipal enterprise "Directorate of Construction and Restoration Works", the project owner of the Memorial Complex construction, had neither licenses, nor other documents for performing construction works or funding Memorial Complex construction. However, UAH 86 million of budget funds had already been appropriated at the moment the agreement was signed.
Moreover, the audit ascertained that the cost of Memorial Complex construction works was overestimated by UAH 1,6 million, which caused a relevant financial loss to the State Budget. Suspicious operations with UAH 3 million of budget funds were also detected.
Certain expenditures of the State Budget funds also require extra verification by the law enforcement bodies.
The Main Control and Revision Office of Ukraine informed that the audit materials would be forwarded to the General Prosecution of Ukraine for the corresponding measures to be taken.
The Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed: "Officials shall bear responsibility for the misappropriation of budget funds, especially when the commemoration of Holodomor victims is concerned; misappropriation of public funds is evil, while plundering of funds intended for commemoration is sacrilege".