No. 12 (59) / 2002

Address of the Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation to the readers, texts of the cables with greetings to Sergei Stepashin, Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation, on the five-year jubilee of the "Bulletin of the Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation"
(p. 3)

Sergei Ryabukhin, Sergei Shokhin
(p. 8)

The report on the results of the audit made on the budget execution in the Republic of Adygeya - recipient of financial aid from the federal budget in the amount of over 50% of the consolidated budget expenditures for 2001.

The audit found the following:

• the revenues of the republican budget amounted to RUR 1,772,643.0 thousand in 2001, or 106.0% against the adjusted plan, and 119.0% against the approved plan;

• the sum of the tax, tax sanction and fine arrears to budgets of all tiers amounted to RUR 817,821.0 thousand as of 1 January 2002;

• laws and regulations of the Republic of Adygeya governing budget legal relations do not fully correspond to requirements of federal legislation;

• in 2001 the republic used to allocate funds under separate resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Adygeya for measures that have not been prescribed by the Law on the Republican Budget while businesses received funds without proper recording of ownership for the sum of funds allocated;

• there were cases of granting loans prior to the approval of the Republican Budget law for 2001 and other regulations as well as granting loans to insolvent grantees;

• in violation of the Russian Federation Budget Code, Article 99, the Republic of Adygeya does not account for all debt obligations of the Constituent Member of the Russian Federation. As a result, it has been detected that the public debt of the Republic of Adygeya has been understated by RUR 75,432.2 thousand, or 25.1% of its real volume.

Vladimir Panskov
(p. 58)

The report on the results of the thematic audit conducted on the organization of activities performed by tax, treasury and financial agencies, credit institutions related to formation and execution of federal budget revenues in the Moscow Region for 2001 and 1st quarter of 2002.

The report contains information about compliance of regional tax and financial agencies, credit institutions and taxpayers with the tax, budget and banking legislation when executing the revenue part of the federal budget on the territory of the Moscow Region, compliance with the federal legislation and other laws and regulations of the Russian Federation, with laws and regulations passed by legislative and executive authorities of the Moscow Region related to taxation and tax policies. Examples of these agencies' activities are provided as well as violations detected in the course of the audit.

Vladimir Panskov
(p. 81)

The results of the thematic audit of the complete and timely transfer to the federal budget of funds received from sale of goods turned into federal ownership in relation to claimed violations of customs rules, goods placed under the regime "Rejection in the Government's Favor", in the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation, Central Customs Department of the Russian Federation State Customs Committee (the Central Operating Customs, the Belgorod Customs), Central Excise Customs Office of the Russian Federation State Customs Committee (the Vaninsky Customs, the Grodekovsky Customs), Southern Customs Department of the Russian Federation State Customs Committee (the Astrakhan Customs, the Sochi Customs) and major commissioners for 2001 and 1st quarter of 2002.

The report analyses the efficiency of work performed by the customs bodies with goods and values turned unto federal ownership and assesses the completeness of funds receipts as a result of sale thereof.

Receipts from sale of goods confiscated as a result of proceedings in connection with violation of customs rules go down in customs departments every year which testifies to the insufficient use by customs officials of measures prescribed by the Russian Federation legislation that are to be applied to persons violating customs rules. The accounting data about the goods seized in accordance with the protocols of customs violations as well as those turned into federal ownership are not in conformity with the warehouse accounting data and actual presence of the goods in temporary warehouses. Improper execution of official duties by customs officials and abuse of official powers results in significant losses of the federal budget.

Yuri Voronin
(p. 106)

The report on the results of auditing the targeted and efficient use of the funds allocated for implementation of the federal target program "Development of Medical Industry" related to medical equipment in the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technologies of the Russian Federation and in the Healthcare Ministry of the Russian Federation.

The audit detected as follows:

• in violation of 1998, 1999 and 2000 federal budget laws the Russian Federation Ministry of Finance did not provide funding in the full amount to the Program in relation to medical equipment. During the period of the Program implementation the government customers failed to establish an efficient system of providing medical institutions and population with medical equipment and medical supplies;

• the Russian Federation Ministry of Economics, Russian Federation Ministry of Industry and Science and the Russian Federation Healthcare Ministry failed to organize work on attracting funds of the Russian Federation regions and extrabudgetary sources to fund the Program;

• the investment part of the Program has not been fulfilled;

• unsatisfactory elaboration of the Program provisions by the authors, inactivity of government customers, lack of inter-agency coordination of activities performed by main administrators of the Program measures as well as the replacement of the government customer in the course of the implementation and termination of funding since 2002 resulted in the situation when a major part of program measures on development of medical science have not been effected.

Mikhail Beskhmelnitsyn
(p. 121)

The report on the results of the audit of economic and financial activities of the Sea Administration, Kaliningrad Port, for 1999-2001.

The report analyses economic and financial activities of the state enterprise "Sea Administration of the Kalinigrad Port".

The cargo turnover of the Kaliningrad sea port grew 32.3% in 2001 against the previous year, yet loading facilities of the port are used only for 40%. The report provides factors that reduce competitiveness of the Kaliningrad sea port among the ports of Baltic countries. The report contains examples of delayed charging of port dues, inefficient use of the assets held in the federal ownership as well as other violations detected in the course of the audit.

Ivan Dakhov
(p. 141)

The report on the results of the audit of funding, target and efficient use of federal budget funds in 2001 allocated for implementation of the federal target program "Ensuring safety of the lake Baikal and rational use of natural resources in its basin" (Federal Target Program "Baikal").

Subject of the audit: federal budget funds allocated in 2001 for implementation of the Federal Target Program "Baikal" (hereinafter referred to as FTP "Baikal"). The mechanism of implementing Program measures and assessment of goals, objectives and activities of the FTP "Baikal" in the Irkutsk Region and in the Republic of Buryatia.

For the period of implementation of the FTP "Baikal" (1995-2001) under 5% of funds appropriated has been allocated to the Irkutsk Region and under 2% - to the Republic of Buryatia for the measures that were to be funded from the federal budget. 14 activities of FTP "Baikal" out of 31 to be funded from the federal budget were not funded during the period of the program implementation including "Development of the Baikal National Park in the Irkutsk Region" that has a paramount importance for the preservation of the unique natural complex, compliance with the Russian ecological legislation and commitments under two international conventions on preservation of bio diversity and Global Natural Heritage (UNESCO).

The Federal Law "On the 2001 Federal Budget" (Appendix 39) provided for RUR 36,751 thousand to fund activities of the FTP "Baikal" including government investments - RUR 34,300 thousand and scientific research work - RUR 2,451 thousand. RUR 29,500 thousand of those provided for government investments have been received by the Irkutsk Region, or 86%, RUR 4800 thousand have been received by the Republic of Buryatia, or 14% of those projected.

Nikolai Loktionov
(p. 163)

The report on the results of the audit of legitimacy of target foreign borrowing, efficiency and targeted use of the foreign borrowing made by the administration of the Krasnodar Territory and administration of the City of Sochi, by OAO "Novorossiyskrybprom" (the City of Novorossiysk), OAO "Krasny Dvigatel" (the City of Novorossiysk), ZAO "SOYA" (the City of Krasnodar), construction and industrial firm "Investor" (the City of Sochi) against guarantees of the Russian Federation Government including loans of the World Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

The subject of the audit: agreements, contracts, financial, banking and other documents and their compliance with laws and regulations of the Russian Federation relating to the use of targeted foreign borrowing.

The issue of repaying arrears of OOO construction and industrial firm "Investor", ZAO "SOYA", ZAO "Novorossiysk factory "Krasny Dvigatel", OAO "Novorossiyskrybprom" to the federal budget on the loans granted has not been settled. The non-execution of financial obligations by the above entities to the Ministry of Finance has resulted in the damage to the federal budget in the amount of USD 21.5 million and DM 28.9 million.

Based on the audit results the submissions to the Government of the Russian Federation, to the administration of the City of Sochi and an application to the General Prosecutor's Office were forwarded; a report was sent to inform accordingly the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Federal Assembly, to the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Federation President in the Southern Federal Area.

Mikhail Surkov
(p. 172)

The report of the audit of the targeted use of federal budget funds appropriated for maintenance of the Urals Military District of the Interior Forces of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry (the Urals Military District of the Interior).

Subject of the audit: financial and economic activities of the Urals Military District of the Interior for 2001; the status of funding of the Urals Military District of the Interior and its military units from the federal budget; execution of the estimated expenditures; the structure of expenditures; compliance of actual expenditures with their purposes and budget classification.

The sum of financial violations in the use of federal budget funds detected during this audit amounted to RUR 14,111.6 thousand, or 1.6% of the total sum of budget appropriations allocated for the maintenance of the Urals Military District of the Interior Forces of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry and its military units.

Mikhail Surkov
(p. 187)

The report on the results of the audit conducted on the targeted use of federal budget funds appropriated for maintenance of interior forces on transport facilities including: in the Main Department of Interior Forces on Transport Facilities and in Special Transportation of Russian Federation Interior Ministry (the City of Moscow), Middle-Volga Department of Interior on Transport Facilities (the City of Samara), Northern Department of Interior on Transport Facilities (the City of Yaroslavl), Eastern-Siberian Department of Interior on Transport Facilities (the City of Irkutsk), Far-Eastern Department of Interior on Transport Facilities (the City of Khabarovsk), Azov-Black Sea Department of Interior on Transport Facilities (the City of Krasnodar), Moscow Department of Interior on Air and Water Transport Facilities (the City of Moscow).

The audit detected the following:

• when using federal budget funds appropriated for maintenance of interior units on transport facilities heads of some organizational divisions of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry Central Administration (Financial and Economic Department, Capital Construction Department of the Rear Service of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry, Main Department of Interior on Transport Facilities and in Special Transportation of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry) and divisions subordinate to the Rear Service of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry (Logistic Department of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry) as well as heads of interior units on transport facilities did not fully comply with the requirements of Federal laws, resolutions of the Russian Federation Government and directives of the Russian Federation Interior Minister related to targeted and efficient disbursement of federal budget funds which appeared to be a major reason for violations and drawbacks detected in the course of the audit;

• the sum of financial violations in the use of federal budget funds detected during the audit only in 7 interior departments on transport facilities out of 20 amounted to RUR 132,560.9 thousand, or 8.9 % of the total sum of budget appropriations allocated for maintenance thereof.

Estimation by the Russian population of the activities conducted by the Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation
(p. 205)

Materials of field work 25-28 October 2002, of the All-Russian Center of Public Opinion Surveys (VTsIOM). All-Russian, representative sampling (1,600 respondents).