During the work of the updated composition of the Accounting Chamber, 90 criminal proceedings have already been initiated on the basis of its audits. This was reported by the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber Valeriy Patskan, during the meeting in Oslo with the Auditor General of the Kingdom of Norway, Per-Christian Foss.
Valeriy Patskan noted that reducing corruption is one of the major challenges Ukraine faces today and the Accounting Chamber plays a key role in this process. He admitted that one of the components of the fight against corruption is prevention of inefficient use of funds of each taxpayer. “One of the key tasks that I set for myself and our team is performance. We do not want to write “tick” reports. We want our recommendations to be 100% taken into account by the authorities, and those who are guilty of misappropriation of funds should be prosecuted,” Valeriy Patskan said.
He admitted in nearly 1.5 years of the updated composition of the Accounting Chamber’s work, the cooperation with all law enforcement authorities was resumed. “According to our audits, more than 90 criminal proceedings have been initiated. And we are waiting for feedback and proper response on other materials,” the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber said.
Valeriy Patskan also recalled that last year the Accounting Chamber checked 598 auditees and found violations about 17 billion UAH in total. These violations are budgetary and other legislation, inefficient management and use of budget funds, property, funds of international organizations.
The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber noted that the Kingdom of Norway has one of the lowest levels of corruption in the world. “During the meeting, my colleague Per-Christian Foss mentioned only two cases of corruption in the united communities. And so, and not without reason, he says that they have no corruption. The key to this phenomenon is citizens' trust in the State and strict control by the state over the implementation of decisions,” Valeriy Patskan said.
The Office of the Auditor General was established in 1816 and is accountable to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Norway. Its major tasks are managing the central public accounts, control for the accounts of ministries and government agencies; systematic analysis of economy, efficiency and effectiveness of systems, etc. And last but not least, the Office of the Auditor General not only points out gaps, but also monitors the proper implementation of the recommendations.
Valeriy Patskan noted that the Accounting Chamber implements an effective post-monitoring procedure and expects legislative changes regarding the responsibility for non-compliance with the requirements and recommendations of the Accounting Chamber.
The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber also told the Auditor General of the Kingdom of Norway about other positive changes that have taken place in almost 1.5 years. The parties also discussed ways to increase the efficiency of the institution. The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber invited Mr Foss to visit Ukraine in the near future, to see the changes made.
The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber and its Members who were on the working visit at the Kingdom of Norway, also visited the Parliament of the Kingdom of Norway.
The study visit of members of the Accounting Chamber to the Office of the Auditor General of the Kingdom of Norway was supported by the Project "Effective Public Financial Management III", implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).