Ukraine laundered billions in arms trade – commission

Ukraine’s special parliamentary commission investigating illegal arms trading announced that Kiev’s weapons supplies to Georgia harmed the country’s own military efficiency. According to the commission, President Viktor Yushchenko was directly linked to a

“Arms were being supplied for less than fair value, and even that cash wasn’t reaching the country’s budget,” said the head of the commission, Valery Konovalyuk.

He added Ukraine sold a total of $US 2.5 billion worth of arms over last four years, with the country's budget receiving only $US 200 million of that sum. 

“Actually, it was money laundering,” Konovalyuk said.

The commission was established on the initiative of the opposition Party of the Regions, headed by Viktor Yanukovich, following the August conflict in the Caucasus.