Russian regional official charged with embezzling $1mlnApril 16, 2012 - 14:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A senior government official in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk has been charged with embezzling 29 million rubles ($980,000) in state funds, RIA Novosti reported. In 2009, Krasnoyarsk Region Industry and Energy Minister Denis Pashkov used fake documents to allow a privately-owned plant to receive state subsidies as it had suffered losses, the Investigative Committee said in a statement on Monday. Instead, Pashkov and his accomplice, Pavel Lusnikov, appropriated the funds themselves. Earlier this month, prosecutors said $84 million of state funds intended for the volatile North Caucasus had been misappropriated in 2011. Outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev has made the fight against corruption one of the cornerstones of his four years in office, but admitted in January that he had achieved "almost no success." "The law enforcement system is affected by corruption no less than the state officials are," Medvedev said. "We created anti-corruption laws but they failed to achieve their objectives." Russia rated 43rd out of 182 countries in Transparency International's 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index. Public anger over corruption has been enflamed by online activism, in particular the work of blogger Alexei Navalny, whose website Rospil exposes official fraud by monitoring suspicious state tenders. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Surveying works underway in Armenia’s Kirants Surveying works are underway in the Armenian village of Kirants in the northern Tavush province. Armenia calls for prohibiting threats of attacks on nuclear facilities Armenia has raised the need for a treaty prohibiting attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes. Armenia says ready to extend nuclear plant’s lifetime by 10 years Armenia has taken necessary measures to extend the lifetime of its nuclear power plant until 2036. Ameriabank's Trade Finance portfolio enriched with four prestigious awards from EBRD and IFC Ameriabank received the awards from international financial institutions in recognition of its trade finance operations. |