Combating corruption

Fugitive Ukrainian Member of Parliament Alexander Onishchenko claimed in an interview from Dubai on Monday that President Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko was personally involved in large-scale corruption and money laundering in Ukraine. SOT, Alexander Onishchenko, fugitive Ukrainian MP, (English): "I cannot say exactly the amount how much they used, if you see how of the corruption scandals were from this money, because the most of the money they use for the war. [Ukrainian President Petro] I think Poroshenko is very interested to keep the war. First of all, they can anytime get the power and say now is the time to put the military and take the control of everyone. The second thing, all of the contracts for this war like even the smaller weapons, and some stuff for the army they do in the companies which are close to him. So, they just washing money, so these companies they get the biggest contract, they get this money, they keep the provision and they are making money. For th...

The prime minister urged his cabinet colleagues to be brave enough to do it, saying it was like shutting one’s eyes before parachuting out of a plane. But as the deadline for its completion nears, an IMF-backed reform forcing Ukrainian politicians and officials to declare their assets online is facing what some lawmakers and anti-corruption activists say are persistent attempts to sabotage it. “There is an attempt to discredit the system in order to destroy it technically, physically,” said Viktor Chumak, an independent lawmaker and the deputy head of the parliament’s committee on fighting corruption. The reform comes at a critical time for Ukraine. More than two years after street protests ousted a Kremlin-backed president, political leaders in Kiev must be seen to make good on promises to transform the country and tackle corruption. The reform has faced hostility from the start, and the original August launch date was delayed because the software wasn’t given sec...