Payments of $1.1 billion to support Ukraine in the months following the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict were not properly documented. The lack of auditing raises concerns about the financial accountability and transparency of US military aid, according to a US Department of Defence audit, Stars and Stripes said.
In an audit conducted by the director general, $2.1 billion of approved funds for Kyiv in 2022 were verified. It found that 323 payments, or 67 per cent of the total, were either undocumented or improperly accounted for, leaving officials unable to confirm whether the funds were used for their intended purpose. The unconfirmed payments included $17 million spent by the Navy on fuel and other expenditures in Europe not related to Ukraine. The findings raised concerns about possible violations of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits spending not authorised by Congress, according to IG.
Due to the urgency of distributing funds after the conflict began in February 2022, DOD officials faced the need to make payments quickly. As a consequence, “This quick reaction led to a breakdown in internal controls,” according to the report.
According to the DOD’s Financial Management Regulation and Joint Travel Regulations, each payment must be accompanied by expense vouchers, invoices, and details that describe the purpose and accuracy of the expenditure. The IG found these requirements were often ignored or incomplete. As an example, for 264 payments, or 82 per cent of the unconfirmed transactions, the Ministry of Defence failed to adequately justify the use of additional funds for Ukraine.
The report noted that communication difficulties contributed to the problems because staff did not receive clear and detailed guidance on how to document the purpose of the funds, according to the director general. In some cases, DOD officials interpreted high-level directives and laws in their own way, the IG added.
In June 2024, DOD officials provided the director general with additional documentation for 27 of 323 unconfirmed transactions. Of these, only 12 were found to have been properly executed, while the remaining 15 were found to be improper or irrelevant to Ukraine’s defence, according to the report.
Defence Department officials agreed to review the documentation to determine whether the $1 billion in question was spent in support of the Ukraine assistance mission and whether it was accurate, and to take appropriate action if there were discrepancies. But the Pentagon comptroller largely disagreed with the director general’s recommendations, which included more thorough training on documentation procedures and clearer instructions.
Despite, calls by the IG for Navy and Air Force officials to address potential violations of the Antideficiency Act also went unanswered. The IG stated that he would follow up on his recommendations until management agreed to take actions deemed sufficient. The audit examined only a fraction of all Ukraine-related transactions, the IG warned that similar problems could affect the remaining $76.3 billion in supplemental appropriations approved through April 2024.
