Pavlenko told the Olympians how much money went missing from the budget under Yanukovych

On July 12, 2005, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Yuriy PAVLENKO, met with the champions and prize-winners of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens. The President of the National Olympic Committee, Serhiy Bubka, was also present. The discussion concerned the statement by the Olympians who refused the monetary awards they received for their performances at the 2004 Olympics, reports the press service of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

As the Minister emphasized: "The Olympians have undoubtedly earned these bonuses, and even larger ones, but the legality of the mechanisms for allocating the funds is being checked. And this is not about persecuting former officials. It is about unconditional compliance with the Law by every Ukrainian."

As Yuriy Pavlenko reported, during the audit of the use of state budget funds, the Accounting Chamber discovered the misuse of 21 million hryvnias by Viktor Yanukovych's Government. This is money from the reserve fund of the Cabinet of Ministers. And the Olympians' bonuses are only a small part of these millions.

"In this regard, according to the Minister, an investigation is currently underway. In the coming days, the Prosecutor General's Office promises to make public its official position. The main result of the meeting was plans to create a working group that will work on the Concept for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports in Ukraine. It is also to define an effective system for protecting the rights of athletes and coaches. The Minister agreed on this with the Olympians and coaches.

Together with Yuriy Pavlenko, this decision was signed by Bubka, Tedeyev, Merleni, Honcharov, Shevchenko, Osypenko, Leonchuk, Razoryonov, Bessonova, Bilonoh, Brynzak, Semykina and others.

Also, the Olympians accepted the proposal to become advisers to the Minister of Ukraine for Youth and Sports.

It should be noted that on the eve of the meeting, the majority of the Olympians who were at the meeting with Pavlenko stated that they were refusing the bonus for their victories in Athens as a sign of protest against the persecution of the former president of the NOC, Viktor Yanukovych.