MOSCOW, November 18 (Sputnik) – Squandering and outright theft of state funds will not go unnoticed, some individuals are already facing consequences, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
“Squandering, improper use of state funds, as well as outright corruption and theft will not go unnoticed,” Putin said at a conference of the All-Russia People's Front civil society group. “Concerning certain individuals… conclusions have already been made.”
Putin said that civil society control was the force that made recently adopted legal norms concerning state purchases work in practice.
In early 2014, the Russian government announced its plans to tighten controls on state purchases, including a bill placing price and quality restrictions on procurement plans, but later pushed the regulation back until July. The initiative is expected to prevent government bodies from buying goods and services at inflated prices, which has been a major source of corruption.
Russia's Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin said previously the damages from corruption in 2013 amounted to more than 13 billion rubles ($360.5 million). More than 28,000 anti-corruption cases were launched last year, compared with 18,000 cases in the previous year.
