You're reading: IMF, World Bank see little progress in fight against corruption in Ukraine

The key donors of Ukraine – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – note low effectiveness of the Ukrainian authorities in the fight against corruption.

“We see good and important progress in setting out institutions for tackling investment… Shortcomings in the judicial system and corruption are some of the key reasons why investment is so low in Ukraine. But, so far we see limited results in terms of fighting corruption. So far, no high-level official has been convicted of corruption despite the fact that Ukraine scores very unfavorably in corruption perception in the CIS,” Resident Representative of the IMF in Ukraine Goesta Ljungman said at the Fitch Ratings Annual Conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine Satu Kahkonen also pointed out the acuteness of the issue.

“Governance issues – it’s basically a high level of corruption and the rule of man instead of the rule of law –have prevailed in Ukraine. And it’s keeping the investors out. We’re getting a lot of inquiries from various investors, they come to talk to us, and we see the opportunities in Ukraine, but time after time we hear the concerns about the governance, she said.

As reported, the IMF staff and Ukraine have reached an agreement on economic policies for a new 14-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which will replace the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), approved in March 2015 and set to expire in March 2019.

The agreement is subject to approval by the fund’s management and approval by its Executive Board. The board’s meeting is expected to take place at the end of the year after the Verkhovna Rada adopts the national budget for 2019 in accordance with the recommendations of the IMF.

The World Bank under a request of the Ukrainian government is simultaneously preparing a policy-based guarantee (PBG) for the amount of $650 million to support key policy and institutional reforms to promote economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and improved governance. It is critical for the authorities to reach agreement on the fourth review of Ukraine’s program with the IMF, without which the proposed operation will be unable to proceed.