Ukrainian Aircraft Compensation to be Paid from Development Fund
Shargh newspaper has announced in a report that 200 million euros in compensation for the Ukrainian aircraft will be paid from the development fund. According to experts, this cost should be covered by insurance companies and not from the economic development fund.
There is talk of using the development fund’s foreign currency and rial accounts to cover government expenses as a deviation from the fund’s bylaws. The development fund is actually intended for granting credit and financing projects that have “the possibility of return on investment in foreign currency.”
In Iran’s next year’s budget bill, the budget allocated to the development fund has effectively become a place to meet government needs.
Shargh newspaper wrote in its report that the government is effectively using the foreign currency and rial accounts of this fund to cover its “operational expenditures.” Obviously, operational expenditures do not have return on investment, especially in foreign currency.
The newspaper continued its report by stating that 200 million euros in compensation for the downed Ukrainian aircraft is to be paid from the development fund’s budget. An amount that will be paid in foreign currency and since it has no return on investment, it is effectively a deviation from the defined objectives of the development fund.
The reason for paying compensation through access to financial resources allocated to the development fund was stated to be the limited capacity of insurance companies. Obviously, the payment of such amounts should be covered by insurance companies.
Shargh newspaper further wrote that the use of the development fund outside its bylaws is not limited only to paying compensation related to the downing of the Ukrainian passenger aircraft by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense.
The Rouhani government is even seeking to withdraw 125 million euros from the development fund to cover the cost of membership in international organizations.
It is said that in this way, the use of the development fund outside its bylaws saw an extraordinary increase in the 1400 fiscal year budget.
Based on statistics published by Shargh newspaper, the unauthorized use of the development fund’s foreign currency account is 41 percent. The same newspaper has reported the deviation rate for withdrawals from the rial account at 45 percent.
Hamid Qolizadeh, a budget expert, told Shargh newspaper: “The fund’s own budget and its current expenses are not transparent. It appears that a group intentionally wants to keep the fund in an ambiguous state.”
Source: DW
