A promised nano-revolution, which OJSC Rusnano CEO Anatoly Chubais stated about, may not occur. These conclusions can be drawn from the report of the Chamber of Accounts, according to which the company used massive budget funds inefficiently. However, “demonstrative imprisonments” should not be expected, the experts noted. Meanwhile, the Russian state authorities cannot give up the nano-revolution.
Auditor of the Chamber of Accounts Sergei Agaptsov has made public some results of the work of the Chubais-headed state-run corporation Rusnano, the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported. Unsuccessful investments of the company reached over 24 billion rubles, according to the version of the Chamber of Accounts. As much as 1.2 billion rubles were transferred to the fly-by-night companies, probably for a sheer cashing. Several Rusnano projects were not related (are not related) to nanotechnologies. For example a certain chemical warehouse costing some 43 million rubles. Meanwhile, the average salary in the state-run structure, which operates mainly on the funds of the taxpayers, reached about 15,000 dollars monthly in 2012, from 30,000 to 60,000 dollars monthly among the Rusnano top managers. Anatoly Chubais said in reply to the claims of the auditor that the audit inspection of the Chamber of Accounts was conducted at the request of 93 Communist deputies of the State Duma. The ideological confrontation with the Communists is obvious.
A great “nano-revolution”, about which Rusnano CEO Anatoly Chubais stated, may not occur, the Novye Izvestia daily forecasts. The main reason is the inefficient use of massive budgetary funds by the company. This conclusion is drawn in the report of the Chamber of Accounts over the results of the audit inspection in Rusnano from December 2012 to April 2013. The newspaper recalled that the audit inspection of Rusnano was initiated by 93 deputies of the Communist faction in the State Duma at the end of the previous year.
The summing up of the audit inspection results coincided with the Direct Line with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when the question was put to him, “When will Chubais be imprisoned?”, the president replied that it will never happen, because “a criminal offence” is not found in the violations in Rusnano.
The newspaper noted that the experts do not have a common opinion over how such a new scientific trend as nanotechnologies in general can turn out to be justified. The state expenditures for the company have already reached about 200 billion rubles for the last five years. Meanwhile, the profitability cannot be attained in the corporation.
“Meanwhile, the refusal from a doubtful nano-revolution and the opening of criminal cases in Rusnano should not be expected,” the Novye Izvestia came to conclusion, analyzing the words of Vladimir Putin during the Direct Line.
The experts polled by the newspaper believe that “demonstrative imprisonments” in the project, which Putin personally supported, are impossible so far.
“Rusnano will not be shut down, as quite large investments have been made in it. This step can hardly be explained to the Russians,” expert of the Centre of Political Climate Dmitry Abzalov told the newspaper. “How large Rusnano’s losses will be and whether the project will be profitable in general, it can be assessed at the end of the year, when the results of the second audit inspection are made public,” he said.
As for Anatoly Chubais, he has already prepared his response in case of fiasco of “the nano-revolution”, “The investments in such projects are always fraught with high risks.”