Pentagon auditors found overpricing of American weapons for Ukraine by $1,9 billion
Following an audit, Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch discovered overpricing of American weapons for Ukraine by $1,9 billion.
"The discovery of an additional $1,9 billion in overvalued defense items in our sample, beyond the previously disclosed $6,2 billion (the amount discovered during the 2023 audit, PN), demonstrates that the Department of Defense and its departments failed to fully implement updated policies related to the Department of Defense regulator's instructions issued in the spring of 2023," the auditor's report states.
Thus, in the current fiscal year, the Pentagon will be able to spend almost $2 billion more on weapons for Ukraine than expected due to an accounting error.
“Use of the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) is a critical component of U.S. crisis management policy,” Storch said. “Compliance with applicable defense product evaluation policies under the PDA is of utmost importance. While the Department of Defense has already acknowledged some challenges in this area, misjudging the defense items provided under the PDA risks undermining the credibility of how the Department of Defense reports the use of the PDA for Ukraine and other partners.”
In June 2023, the US Department of Defense admitted a $6,2 billion error related to an inflated estimate of PDA provided to the Ukrainian government.
From the first 37 orders, auditors selected a non-statistical sample of defense general (GE) and operational materials and supplies (OM&S).
The audit team analyzed revaluation data for approximately 2 GE defense items subject to depreciation, such as Humvees, radar systems, tanks and armored personnel carriers, as well as similar data for nearly 300 OM&S items, such as ammunition and missiles, that were expended and not subject to depreciation. depreciation.
The Defense Department audit team determined that, based on its sample analysis, the Pentagon overvalued defense items provided to the government by an additional $1,9 billion, including $653 million for GE and $1,25 billion for OM&S.
Combined with the previously admitted $6,2 billion error, the total amount of overvalued defense items submitted through the PDA is $8,1 billion.
“We also found instances where certain Department of Defense components involved in the assessment of defense items did not have a full understanding of the accounting principles in the DoD Comptroller's policy updates and were unable to implement those updates due to material deficiencies in the financial reporting,” it said. in the Pentagon audit report.
Pentagon auditors found that the price of American weapons for Ukraine was inflated by $1,9 billion.