The IG is going to audit the books of the armed forces, as the Ministry of Defence found $ 6.2 billion due to “evaluation errors” for weapons intended for Ukraine.
“The objective of this audit is to determine the extent and impact of the March 2023 estimation change for valuing assets provided under Presidential Drawdown Authority.”
The Pentagon IG office wrote in a letter, dated Sept. 5 and addressed to the Pentagon’s comptroller, that the audit is aimed at determination of the extent and impact of the March 2023 estimation change for valuing assets provided under Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).
The office also wants to make sure that DoD components followed the current policy when updating the value of items provided to Ukraine through PDA.
The department and services have five days to select the right people to answer questions, the IG warns.
“We plan to perform this audit in accordance with the Government Accountability Office’s generally accepted government auditing standards.”
The audit will take place against the backdrop of political disputes over the need to continue supplying Ukraine with money and weapons. As of August 29, according to the representative of the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant Colonel Garron Garn about $5.75 billion remains for Ukraine, taking into account the decisions of the Presidential Administration.
After Biden announced a new arms package for Kyiv, the amount of support fell by $175 million.
Reuters first reported in May that the Pentagon realised it had miscalculated the cost of security assistance related to presidential spending cuts. The weapons were taken directly from US warehouses and sent to Ukraine. The Pentagon made a mistake in calculations when it provided existing US weapons and platforms instead of purchasing new ones.
Thus, the country’s total spending on weapons unexpectedly increased. At the same time, the Pentagon announced spending cuts of about $ 3 billion. However, the figure increased to $6.2 billion due to miscalculations in both 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
On August 28, at the National Defence Industry Association conference, Undersecretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante told reporters about the complexity of the classification of the supplied equipment.
“So that was the rule set that was changed… was how we value things. If you’ve had to have something replaced from an insurance company, and you talk to an insurance company about how you value the thing you replaced, it was that conversation.”
