23.05.2017, USA.
The Pentagon deliberately overestimated its spending on fuel resources to redirect the excess, in particular, to training militants of the Syrian armed opposition, according to the material published by The Washington Post (WP) on May 20, referring to US military accounting documents.
As a result of overstating the cost to purchase fuel for the US armed forces, the Pentagon has received about $ 6 billion in surplus over the past six years.
Some of the money received through this scheme was spent on training militants of the Syrian armed opposition, “Since 2015, the Defense Department has tapped surpluses from its fuel accounts for $80 million to train Syrian rebels, $450 million to shore up a prescription-drug program riddled with fraud.”
According to the publication, the US Defense Department similarly sought funding to cover “unanticipated expenses … in Afghanistan” for a total of over 1.4 billion dollars.
The Pentagon acknowledged the receipt of a $ 5.6 billion surplus, noting that the funds were received as a result of overestimating fuel prices.
The US Defense Department is the largest consumer of fuel in the world. Every year it buys about 100 million barrels, or 4.2 billion gallons, of refined oil for its aircraft, ships, tanks, and other vehicles.
Questions to the misappropriation of funds by the Pentagon were raised earlier. The investigations conducted produced nothing. Against the backdrop of increased funding for the Defense Department, which the new US President Donald Trump has announced, questions regarding effective and targeted spending are being raised again in the Congress and the American press.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
