Ukraine anti-corruption efforts make progress

This graphic, courtesy the Anticorruption Action Center, illustrates the reported escalation of Oleksandr Yanukovych’s fortunes – after his father became president of Ukraine.



Anti-corruption efforts appear to be making some progress, Concorde Capital told clients in an online advisory as follows:

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) blocked UAH 110 mln from being transferred from the State Treasury to MAKO Trading, a firm owned by Oleksandr Yanukovych*, the son of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the SBU press service reported on July 22. The State Treasury received an order from the Justice Ministry to transfer the funds, the report said. MAKO Trading won a court ruling requiring a debt payment from ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih. The SBU requested from the Prosecutor General’s Office an arrest of the blocked funds.

Officials at the Luhansk Regional Road Service attempted to steal UAH 294 mln from the central budget, the press center of the Anti-Corruption Center alleged on July 22. The Road Service recently requested UAH 93 mln from the central budget to perform repairs in Luhansk region, despite submitting a formal request for UAH 387 mln only in February, the center said. That amount – higher than previous years – was based on the claim that more repairs were needed in the region as a result of the armed conflict, the center reported.

Meanwhile, the head of the Luhansk Regional Road Service, Anatoliy Vladyko, is a business partner of the partners in the firm that won the tender to perform the repairs, the center reported. “Reducing the price by 75 percent gives us an understanding of how much is being stolen off road repairs nowadays,” said Vitaliy Shabunin, the board chairman of the Anti-Corruption Center. “That’s why the head of the Road Service in the Luhansk region, who signed the documents for road repairs in occupied territory, should sit behind bars. If that doesn’t happen, it will become a signal that prosecutors have a deal with this bribe taker.”

Concorde analyst Zenon Zawada added: “It’s encouraging that Ukrainian law enforcement authorities and journalists are continuing to make progress in exposing corruption. At the same time, arrests and convictions are needed. Also, it’s troubling that members of the Yanukovych clan are continuing to gain favorable rulings from Ukrainian courts, though having been placed under international search by the Ukrainian government for their committed crimes. Shabunin said the Luhansk road repair scam might have been carried out if not for the investigations of journalists, which is both encouraging yet troubling, considering there are government bodies that should be monitoring such transactions.

To read further go to this link: ukrainebusiness.com