Russia space agency targeted over “stolen” billions

MOSCOW: The Russian space agency Roscosmos, whose reputation has already been hit by the failure of a Soyuz rocket last month, was on Sunday targeted by the country’s audit court over financial irregularities including “stolen” billions. “We have serious problems with Roscosmos,” the Accounts Chamber chairman Alexeï Kudrin said in televised comments. “Procurement procedures are bad, prices are too high, many projects are unfinished or halted, and funds stand unused for months, and several billion have been lost - stolen - and investigations are ongoing, “ the former finance minister added. A 2017 report by the court signalled a total of 151 irregularities within the space agency accounts, totalling 785.5 billion rubles ($11.9 billion), Russian news agency reported.