'We Found No Misuse Of US Funds In Ukraine', US Treasury Says (With Straight Face)
And now for some Tuesday humor, brought to you by the US Treasury Department, which sees no indication whatsoever that US funds have been misused in Ukraine, following last week's massive political shake-up wherein some dozen top Ukrainian officials were booted from their posts amid persistent corruption allegations.
"We have no indication that U.S. funds have been misused in Ukraine," Treasury spokesperson Megan Apper said in Treasury's first comments since the 'shock' resignations.
In the official statement given to Reuters, the US government also hailed the supposed "safeguards" which the Ukrainians have put in place, though without actually specifying any: "We welcome the ongoing efforts by the Ukrainian authorities to work with us to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place so that U.S assistance reaches those for whom it is intended," Apper said.
Via ReutersThe statement fails to detail precisely how US authorities are tracking disbursement of the some tens of billions in funds that go from American Joe taxpayer, and into the pockets of the Zelensky government to dole out (other than referencing a digital system which supposedly monitors funds)...
Apper said the Treasury would continue to work closely with the World Bank on tracking U.S. disbursements "to confirm that they are used as intended, as well as with Ukraine and other partners to tackle corruption."
Apparently totally unaware of the extreme irony, Reuters chooses to add the following facts for some further context and color to its report... and it's perhaps all you need to know:
"Ukraine ranks 116 out of 180 countries on the annual Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday by Transparency International, up one ranking from last year.
"Its score on the index was 33 on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean."
(...and note that Treasury Dept's statement was issued on very day that the new corruption rankings came out... the "rise" on the index means Ukraine is supposedly ever-so-slightly less corrupt.)
But again, don't worry - nothing to see here - the US Treasury is assuring that when it comes to the well over $100 billion in defense and other foreign aid pledged as well as the many billions distributed so far, Ukraine is "very clean".
See our viral report from last week for a review of the high-ranking Ukrainian officials who were forced to resign--Ukraine Rocked By Corruption Scandal, Wave Of Top Officials Resign: Sports Cars, Mansions & Luxury Vacations As People Suffered.
As but one example, no less than the #2 defense minister was brought down. He had a direct hand in handling some of the very billions in US aid which the Treasury is now claiming was never misused. As we pointed out earlier...
According to AFP, "the defense ministry had earlier announced the resignation of deputy minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of the army's logistical support, on the heels of accusations it was signing food contracts at inflated prices."
In the case regarding the food contracts, Shapovalov is accused of signing a deal with an unknown, shady firm. In his role as deputy defense minister, his is the most notable and visible resignation. Crucially he had no small part in overseeing the billions of dollars flowing from the pockets of US and European taxpayers as authorized defense aid.