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Corruption in Ukraine: Drifting Offshore



Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is facing a crisis of confidence after his name appeared in the Panama Papers leak and the country's prime minister, with whom he clashed, stepped down. Poroshenko rose to power on an anti-corruption platform following the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, but many of his supporters are disappointed in the slow pace of reforms and an apparent unwillingness to crack down on corrupt officials. A confectionery magnate before becoming a politician, Poroshenko promised to sell his candy business during his election campaign to avoid a conflict of interest. But he has yet to do so, and this failure became headline news when the Panama Papers indicated that he had set up an offshore holding company to shield his assets from taxation. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky went to Kiev to witness the embattled president push through a new fragile government, as allegations swirled around his offshore holdings.


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