The amount of embezzlement in the Russian army and the scale of corruption are staggering. This opinion was expressed by the chief military prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky. He also noted positive indicators - a decrease in the number of deserters and, in general, criminality in the troops.
In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Sergei Fridinsky said that a criminal case had been opened against a group of officials from the Main Military Medical Directorate and the State Order Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry. Representatives of these structural divisions of the military department signed a state contract with one commercial firm for the supply of medical equipment worth over 26 million rubles, Interfax reports.
“As we found out, the cost of the equipment purchased from the merchants was overstated by more than three times, and the state suffered more than 17 million rubles of damage. Now, at our request, the money was returned to the state. Nevertheless, some military officials involved in this unsightly story will now have to to answer before the law, Fridinsky said.
At the same time, he noted that the services in which budget money was stolen were repeatedly checked by various controllers.
"Apparently, they have poor eyesight or professional aptitude, and maybe with a conscience. We will find out. No one will go unpunished," Fridinsky said.
Answering a question about corruption in the army, he said that "the scale is sometimes striking." “Sometimes it seems that people have simply lost their sense of proportion and conscience. The amount of embezzlement is often shocking,” Fridinsky said.
At the same time, the criminogenic situation in the army and, in general, in the supervised troops, according to him, "is stable, crime has decreased there over the past year." “We have a lot of military units, in which not a single offense was registered in a year. A significant decrease in indicators - by almost a third - was recorded for crimes against military property, against life and health, including grave consequences, the number of evasion from military service has almost halved (deserters and self-willed persons), as well as encroachments on weapons and ammunition. The number of offenses among officers and, in general, crime among the troops has decreased by more than 17%, "Fridinsky said.
Nevertheless, he noted, it is too early to calm down. "Unfortunately, along with positive aspects, there are also unpleasant ones." "In some areas, in particular, the safety of budgetary funds allocated for military needs, corruption, and hazing, the curve continues to go up," said Sergei Fridinsky.
