MOSCOW, April 26 - RAPSI. Law enforcement agencies have uncovered over 3,500 defense procurement violations in 2011, Major General of Justice Alexander Nikitin, an official at the Main Military Prosecutor's Office, said during Parliament's defense committee meeting on Thursday.

The prosecutor's office prosecuted nearly 500 people, including officials of defense enterprises, and opened 87 criminal cases, Nikitin said.

Most violations resulted from gaps in current legislation such as procurement contract terms and procedures, contract assessments, and product monitoring and acceptance, he added.

The omitted violations result in low quality military equipment delivered to the Armed Forces or a high supply cost, Nikitin said.

The Defense Ministry filed numerous lawsuits against contractors in 2011 in an attempt to recover billions of rubles for defaults in contracts, poor execution and delays.

The ministry spent 581.5 billion rubles ($19.84 billion) on armaments in 2011.

Audit Chamber head Sergei Stepashin reported defense procurement breaches worth 19.5 billion rubles ($665.6 million) in 2011.