Unused Loans and Violations: What the Audit of the Emergency Credit Program for the Recovery of Ukraine Reveals
19 November 21:21
The Accounting Chamber has released the results of a large-scale audit of the Emergency Credit Program for Ukraine’s Recovery, which covered 2019-2024. The audit showed systemic violations in the implementation of construction work within state subprojects – from delays and non-transparent tenders to unnecessary costs of tens of millions of hryvnias, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What was checked
The audit covered 240 subprojects of the program, which financed the reconstruction of social and critical infrastructure. The audit analyzed 25 projects, mostly located outside the combat zone.
The audit found that construction deadlines were often postponed due to untimely adjustments to project documentation, and a significant part of the work was extended until 2025-2026.
What are the violations?
In nine subprojects, the auditors recorded violations in the acceptance and payment for construction works worth more than UAH 106 million.
According to the Accounting Chamber:
- local communities have already suffered losses of over UAH 66 million;
- in a number of cases, payment for works and technical supervision was made illegally;
- contractors received funds without proper tender control and verification of the cost of materials.
For example, in Bucha, over UAH 17 million worth of works and technical supervision was paid for illegally, and in Vyshhorod, the local budget losses from such decisions amounted to over UAH 38 million.
At the same time, some procurements were made without proper market analysis, which resulted in the misuse of another UAH 5 million.
Weak control and bureaucracy
The audit also shows insufficient control by the central authorities. Despite the approval of payments by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development, this did not prevent the payment for works with violations.
Systemic problems include
- incomplete data on projects in the DREAM electronic system;
- lack of penalties for delays;
- irregular reporting by beneficiaries, which was not required by central departments;
- slow coordination between departments after the reorganization of the Ministry of Development.
As a result, the Ministry of Finance had significant unused loan funds on its accounts, for which the state had to pay interest. In 2024 alone, Ukraine paid EUR 1.4 million for servicing EUR 34.8 million, which was not used on time.
The Accounting Chamber sees signs of criminal offenses in some of the officials’ actions and promises to forward the materials to law enforcement agencies.
The auditors insist that increased transparency, streamlined tender procedures, mandatory reporting through DREAM, and better coordination between ministries can significantly reduce the risk of losses and accelerate the pace of reconstruction.
