How To Ruin Credibility? In December 2022, Ukraine Minister Of Finance Declared “Myth Of Corruption.” In January 2023, One Arrest, Fifteen Resignations Due To Allegations Of Corruption- More To Come.
How To Ruin Credibility….
December 2022- Serhiy Marchenko, Minister of Finance Of Ukraine: “There is no time for oligarchs. There is no time for corruption in Ukraine. Half our budget is military expenditure, so half is totally social and humanitarian expenditures leaving no room for misconduct. And I would prefer that this myth or this story about Ukraine’s corruption will evaporate after the war.”
January 2003- Arrest Due To Allegations Of Corruption: Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozinskyi. Resignations Due To Allegations Of Corruption: Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head, Office of the President and whose responsibility included Ukraine’s Large Construction Infrastructure Development Program; Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov; Deputy Prosecutor General Oleskiy Symonenko; Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Ivan Lukeryu; Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Vyacheslav Negoda; Deputy Minister for Social Policy Vitaliy Muzychenk; And the regional governors of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Sumy and Kherson.
LINK TO RELATED POST: 12/19/22- Is Corruption A “Myth” Part Of New Yermak-Led Marketing Campaign? Ukraine US$750 Billion Potential Corruption Pandemic. Macron- Quid Pro Quo! A Vice President For Ukraine?
BBC News
London, United Kingdom
24 January 2023
By James Waterhouse and Phelan Chatterjee
Several senior Ukrainian officials have resigned as President Volodymyr Zelensky begins a shake-up of personnel across his government.
A top adviser, four deputy ministers and five regional governors left their posts on Tuesday. Their departures come as Ukraine launches a broad anti-corruption drive. Recently, authorities have seen bribery claims, reports of officials buying food at inflated prices and one figure accused of living a lavish lifestyle. Senior aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Mr Zelensky was responding to a "key public demand" that justice should apply to everyone. The president has already banned state officials from leaving the country unless on authorised business.
The first to resign on Tuesday was Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the president's deputy head of office, who oversaw regional policy and had earlier worked on Mr Zelensky's election campaign. After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last February he became a frequent spokesperson for the government. He was implicated in scandals over his use of expensive cars - though denies any wrongdoing. In a Telegram post, he thanked Mr Zelensky for "the opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute".
Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov also resigned, following reports he oversaw the purchase of military food supplies at inflated prices from a relatively unknown firm. The department called this a "technical mistake" and claimed no money had changed hands. The defence minister himself - Oleksii Reznikov - has been under scrutiny for the same reason. A host of other top officials were dismissed on Tuesday, including: Deputy Prosecutor General Oleskiy Symonenko; Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Ivan Lukeryu; Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Vyacheslav Negoda; Deputy Minister for Social Policy Vitaliy Muzychenk; And the regional governors of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Sumy and Kherson.
Ukraine has a history of corruption and in 2021 Transparency International ranked the country at 122 out of 180 countries in its ranking of corrupt states. A crackdown is one of the EU's key demands if the country is to advance its application to join the bloc.
In an address on Sunday, Mr Zelensky promised there would be "no return to what used to be in the past, to the way various people close to state institutions" used to live. His comments followed the arrest of Ukraine's Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozinskyi on Saturday on suspicion of accepting a bribe worth over $350,000 (£285,000) over the supply of electricity generators. He has denied the charges.
David Arakhamia, the head of Mr Zelensky's Servant of the People party, has said that corrupt officials could face jail time. "Officials at all levels have been constantly warned through official and unofficial channels: focus on the war, help the victims, reduce bureaucracy and stop doing dubious business. Many of them have actually listened, but some, unfortunately, did not," he said in a Telegram statement. "If it doesn't work in a civilized way, it will be done according to the laws of wartime. This applies both to recent purchases of generators and to fresh scandals in the ministry of defence." While there have been anti-corruption reforms in recent years, the stakes are high for Kyiv - which is receiving billions of dollars worth of financial aid from Western allies.
Foreign Policy
Washington DC
25 January 2023
Corruption Investigations Have Consequences in Ukraine
Fifteen Ukrainian officials have left their positions since Saturday. Journalists and anti-corruption authorities had brought allegations against six of them. Those who have left their posts include front-line governors and even Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office (Tymoshenko asked to be relieved of his responsibilities). Anti-corruption investigators detained Ukraine’s deputy minister of infrastructure, Vasyl Lozinskyi, on Saturday; he was dismissed from his position. Zelensky then vowed a zero-tolerance approach to corruption, after which four other senior officials were dismissed or left, including deputy defense minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov. Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers announced Tuesday that five regional heads had been dismissed.
Corruption has long been an issue in Ukrainian politics. Frustration with corruption was a key part of the Maidan protests almost a decade ago, and Zelensky, in 2019, ran for president on an anti-establishment, anti-corruption platform. That so many were ousted so quickly is likely meant to signify that his administration is serious about tackling corruption at a time of war. That is a message that anti-corruption activists and their allies believe needs to be backed by reality, not only for the war effort and morale, but for the country more generally. Bridget Brink, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said Monday, “There can be no place in the future Ukraine for those who use state resources for their own enrichment. State resources should serve the people.”
“It’s very hard to save the country,” Andrii Borovyk, the executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, told the Associated Press, “when there’s a lot of corruption.”
LINK TO RELATED POST: 12/19/22- Is Corruption A “Myth” Part Of New Yermak-Led Marketing Campaign? Ukraine US$750 Billion Potential Corruption Pandemic. Macron- Quid Pro Quo! A Vice President For Ukraine?
