UKRAINIAN CORRUPTION NEED CHANGES

IMF - Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, spoke yesterday about recent events. Following the call, Ms. Lagarde issued the following statement:

"I am very encouraged by the adoption of the law on the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) by the Ukrainian parliament, which is an important step forward in the authorities' fight against corruption. The new law paves the way for setting up an independent and strong anti-corruption court that together with existing institutions (NABU and the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office) will contribute to delivering the accountability and justice that the people of Ukraine demand of their public officials.

"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.

"We also agreed to work closely together, including with the government, toward the timely implementation of this and other actions, notably related to gas prices and the budget, that are critical to allow the completion of the pending review under Ukraine's IMF-supported program."

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Earlier:

2018, April, 20, 08:35:00 U.S. BOUGHT UKRAINE 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.

2018, April, 13, 17:35:00 UKRAINE WANT $17.5 BLN REUTERS - But it warned that all its expectations hinged on Ukraine sticking with its $17.5 billion programme with the IMF, which has expressed concern about perceived backtracking on reforms and delays in implementing policies to tackle corruption.

2018, April, 2, 09:05:00 UKRAINE'S GAS PRICES WILL UP REUTERS - The International Monetary Fund told Reuters on Friday Ukraine should allow the market to determine gas prices as promised under a $17.5 billion loan program, after the government extended a below-market level pricing system for households.

2018, January, 29, 08:25:00 EBRD BOUGHT UKRAINE: $12 BLN 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.

2017, December, 11, 09:35:00 IMF: UKRAINIAN CORRUPTION 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."

2017, April, 7, 18:30:00 UKRAINE'S SERIOUS SHORTCOMINGS Ukraine has been urged to finalise gas sector reforms by Janez Kopac, director of Energy Community that regroups EU and non-EU states in Europe.

2017, April, 5, 18:35:00 IMF: UKRAINE'S CORRUPTION Directors welcomed the creation of new anticorruption institutions, but strongly urged the authorities to strengthen these institutions further and to establish an independent anticorruption court to achieve concrete results, in order to support the reform program, attract investment, and achieve faster growth.