01.02 No Widespread Corruption in Sochi Construction – Official

MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) – Government oversight during the construction effort for the Olympic Games in Sochi has not uncovered widespread large-scale theft, the Russian official in charge of the preparations said.

“I am only saying that, despite very strict control, cases involving large-scale theft have not been seen. I also cannot guarantee that in principle there weren’t any [such cases],” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said in an interview with magazine Itogi to be published Monday.

Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny published an online analysis Monday detailing how billions of dollars have been illegally siphoned off from dozens of Sochi construction projects.

But according to Kozak, of the 141 crimes recorded in 2012 connected with the Olympic construction effort the most common was petty theft.

“All these crimes came to light, and the perpetrators have been brought to justice regardless of their social or material status,” Kozak added.