TIRASPOL, August 28 (Itar-Tass) —— Transdniestrian authorities have denied the alleged misuse of Russian humanitarian aid. The Central Bank, the Finance Ministry and the Audit Chamber of the unrecognized republic issued a joint refutation on Friday.
Claims of the alleged misuse of Russian money in Transdniestria “are nothing but speculations ahead of the December presidential election. The money allotted by Russia has been spent properly. Resolutions of the parliament and directives of the president created a mechanism to control the movement and spending of funds. A parliamentary commission was formed to ensure that control. There is an open access to this information,” they said.
Most of the money was spent on financial assistance to pensioners and food subsidies. The sum of 214.5 million rubles received in 2008 credited farmers.
A number of Russian media outlets said last week that former head of Transdniestrian Gazprombank Marina Smirnova, a daughter-in-law of Transdniestrian leader Igor Smirnov, was summoned to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to testify in the case of the Tiraspoltransgaz-Transdniestria account. The media also said she was involved in the misuse of funds assigned to Transdniestria, which suspended Russian aid to the region in 2010. The assistance was resumed in April 2011.
Russia has been providing assistance to Transdniestria for several years. The donations stood at 1.8 billion rubles in 2006, 547 million rubles in 2008, 937 million rubles in 2009, 396 million rubles in 2010 and 584 million rubles in 2011.