''Officials say this structure allows Washington to reallocate funds between procurement programmes. In this case, money originally intended for Switzerland’s F-35 fighter jet programme has reportedly been used to cover shortfalls in the Patriot missile system contract.''

This seems a bit like a Ponzi scheme to me. Change a few words and you'll see what I mean:

''Officials say this structure allowed the defendant to reallocate funds between procurement programmes. In this case, money originally intended for a client's purchase of a night club had reportedly been used to cover shortfalls in the defendant's collection of luxury automobiles.''