Corruption and unethical behavior in the energy industry have an international dimension because often projects involve international actors.

Ukraine's growth is held back by a weak business environment—with shortcomings in the legal framework, pervasive corruption, and large parts of the economy dominated by inefficient state-owned enterprises or by oligarchs—deterring competition and investment.

The costs of corruption run deep. Your taxpayer dollars are lost in different ways, siphoned off from schools, roads, and hospitals to line the pockets of people up to no good.

IMF - “In this regard, I commended the President for his leadership that enabled the approval of the law, and welcomed his intention to make the court operational by the end of this year. We agreed that it is now important for parliament to quickly approve the supplementary law submitted by the President to formally establish the court, as well as the necessary amendments to restore the requirement that the HACC will adjudicate all cases under its jurisdiction, including all appeals of relevant first instance court decisions, as it was in the draft law approved in the first reading.

REUTERS - “What we’ll be looking to see is that it ensures the establishment of an independent and trustworthy anti-corruption court that meets the expectation of the Ukrainian people,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a briefing.

IMF - Directors also agreed that the Fund should continue to address governance issues and corruption in surveillance when the applicable standard of the Integrated Surveillance Decision has been met.

U.S.DT - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk of Ukraine. Secretary Mnuchin and Minister Danyliuk discussed the economic and reform outlook of the Ukrainian economy.

EBRD - He noted Ukraine continued to be one of the world’s most energy-intensive countries, three times more so than the EU average, and he said the country should focus on energy efficiency, diversifying energy sources and improving municipal services and infrastructure. The EBRD President referred specifically to the need for further improvements in governance. Progress had been made but corruption was still a barrier to foreign direct investment, he said. The establishment of anti-corruption institutions could make an important contribution to increasing transparency in the economy.

IMF - “I had a constructive and open discussion with President Poroshenko on Ukraine’s efforts to fight corruption, which is expected by the Ukrainian society and is critical to improve transparency and accountability and create the conditions for sustainable growth."

The World Bank’s current investment project portfolio in Ukraine amounts to about US$2.8 billion. Investments support improving basic public services that directly benefit ordinary people in areas such as water supply, sanitation, heating, power, roads, social protection and healthcare, as well as private sector development. Since Ukraine joined the World Bank in 1992, the Bank’s commitments to the country have totaled over US$10 billion in about 70 projects and programs.