Bruce Tasker has just posted the latest entry on his blog blowing the whistle on World Bank activities in Armenia. In the latest installment, he details how the Yerevan Water & Sewerage Company ran up operating expenses of $55 million. Not bad if you’re looking for an opportunity to siphon off money, I suppose — a “nice little earner,” as we say in England.

Throughout the period of the Municipal Development Project, when the International Operator, A. Utilities managed the Yerevan Water & Sewerage Company, the Company paid virtually none of its major electricity expense. So in January 2002, the Company had an electricity debt of about $18 Million – and Rising. The Government issued a Decree allowing the Company to ‘Write Off’ that debt, on the understanding that the amount should be used for Increasing the State Shares in the Charter Capital of the Company.

[…]

[…] in the year 2003, under the management of the International Operator A. Utilities, the Yerevan Water & Sewerage Company received benefits of:

Eighteen Million Dollars – Electricity Debt Written Off

Twelve Million Dollars – Government Loan Written Off

Eighteen and a Half Million Dollars – Government Grant

In the year 2003 the Company received benefits of Nearly Fifty Million Dollars

But in the same year, the Company recorded Revenues of about Six Million Dollars

And in that year, the Company recorded Expenses of Fifty-Five Million Dollars.

By the way, the Company recorded that in 2003, the Government grant of about 18.5 million Dollars was used to the increase the Charter Capital. The Charter Capital was not increased in 2003.

These are some of the reasons why Yerevan’s residents are being asked to pay more and more for their water. It is also why I am asking the World Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity to send a team of investigators to Yerevan to study this matter.

The full post is here.