Russia has criticized the dissemination of "fake news" about alleged embezzlement at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), accusing it of being an effort to "discredit" the project and "undermine" the solid relationship between Moscow and Dhaka.

“It has come to our attention that certain misleading and false information regarding alleged embezzlement in the Rooppur NPP project keep circulating in Bangladesh media despite two press releases issued earlier by Rosatom State Corporation to refute these ungrounded statements,” said the Russian Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday.

To put an end to further absurd speculations on the subject, it seems necessary to clarify the mechanism of utilisation of Russian export credits and the amount of money already spent on the construction of the Rooppur NPP, it said in a press statement.

As of September 3, 2024, approximately 7.8 billion USD out of 11.9 billion USD provided by Russia to Bangladesh under state export credits for the implementation of Rooppur NPP project, has been utilised.

This amount includes transactions under two separate agreements: 491.3 million USD under the first agreement dated January 15, 2013 (this credit amounted up to 500 million USD, and its utilization period expired in 2017), and 7.3 billion USD under the second agreement dated July 26, 2016.

The full amount of the second export credit is 11.38 billion USD out of which 64% has been used, and its utilisation period expires on December 31, 2024.

The lack of the very opportunity for any corruption on the Rooppur NPP project can be proved by the fact that, according to the laws of the Russian Federation, the provision of any state export credit does not imply direct transfer of funds to the sovereign borrower, said the Embassy.

The financing of any goods, works or services provided to a foreign customer under the export agreement is conducted by the Russian Ministry of Finance in Russian currency (rubles) directly to the concerned Russian exporting companies.

“These transactions are made based on the documents provided to the Russian Ministry of Finance that have been previously approved by the authorized agent specializing on international agreements – VEB.RF (Vnesheconombank),” said the Russian Mission in Dhaka.

The utilised amounts of state export credits are considered as debt of the foreign state borrower before the Russian Federation, it said.

BDST: 1917 HRS, SEPT 11, 2024
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