Losses from economic crimes in Russia hit record highs – intelligence
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service states this on its website, according to Ukrinform.
In terms of the number of detected offenses, fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of property, as well as illegal financial operations, dominate. At the same time, the main financial losses are linked to the theft of budget funds and abuses in large companies.
About 70% of recorded economic crimes fall into the categories of serious and especially serious offenses. This indicates that these are not isolated violations but entrenched schemes posing high risks to the economy. Crimes are increasingly concentrated around large cash flows that are under state control or linked to state-affiliated structures.
Corruption within government bodies plays a significant role in maintaining the high level of economic crime. The largest number of corruption violations has been recorded in construction, housing and utilities, and the military-industrial complex.
The growth in losses against the backdrop of a relatively stable number of cases points to structural problems in the Russian economy.
"The concentration of resources in the public and corporate sectors, weak control over their use, and high corruption risks reduce the country's investment attractiveness even for 'friendly' states and increase the economy's dependence on administrative distribution of funds rather than market mechanisms," the intelligence service noted.
As Ukrinform previously reported, the Russian economy is entering a phase of managed chaos.
