Corruption in Ukraine ‘at its lowest’ in two decades, finance minister says
Ukrainian finance minister Sergii Marchenko believes that corruption in Ukraine is now at the lowest level in the last two decades, as the war-affected country is facing additional pressure from Western donors to tackle the issue.
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In an interview with Radio Svoboda, Mr Marchenko said that as “an experienced tax officer” he would advise that corruption in Ukraine “be viewed from several perspectives”.
“In the twenty years I have been understanding the processes in this country, the level of corruption is now the lowest it has ever been,” he added, admitting that “perhaps in some sectors it has remained quite high”.
The finance minister believes society is now paying much more attention to corruption, rendering impossible graft schemes that existed a decade ago, during the presidency of the kleptocratic Victor Yanukovych.
“We don't have ministerial positions where oligarchs become oligarchs.”
There can be no one-step clean-up of corruption in Ukraine, Mr Marchenko said, adding the West seems to understand that.
“It is a process. And what civil society organisations are doing, relatively speaking, the publicity that exists, the work of [the national agency on corruption prevention], [the national anti-corruption bureau], and other bodies are having their effect.
“With a certain delay, but the effect is there. And the [Ukrainian] partners also understand this.”
In early 2023, Transparency International ranked Ukraine 116th among 180 countries in terms of corruption perception, which is the best ranking of Ukraine since its methodology was updated.
