Washington, March 18 -- A US government watchdog told lawmakers that $26bn (£20bn) in aid sent to Ukraine was released without any proper oversight of how the funds will be used, raising fresh concerns over the question of transparency concerning aid.
Deputy inspector general Adam Kaplan said contractors hired under a programme run by the now-defunct US Agency for International Development (US AID) failed to meet basic reporting requirements, stating that it frequently missed deadlines, or otherwise failed to submit reports altogether, warning that awarding costly monitoring contracts alone was not sufficient to manage risks.
The audit focused on funds channelled through a World Bank trust fund to support social payments for Ukrainia...