Ukrainian parliament greenlight officials’ lifelong financial monitoring, required by IMF
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on Tuesday approved a bill to reintroduce lifelong financial monitoring of politically exposed persons, or PEPs, which has been a requirement of the International Monetary Fund.
The bill is one of the IMF’s two key requirements for Ukraine to receive the third tranche of macrofinancial assistance by this year’s end, which affects other international financial assistance Kyiv hopes for.
In addition, the adoption of the law is necessary to start accession negotiations with the EU.
Last week, the Ukrainian parliamentary financial committee greenlighted the draft law with an amendment that would restore the indefinite status of politically exposed persons (PEPs) only after Ukraine’s becoming a member of the European Union.
The IMF said it contradicted Kyiv’s obligations as well as the agreements reached between the Fund and Ukraine, according to which the financial monitoring of PEPs had to be reinstated immediately, and the bill was amended.
David Arakhamia, the head of the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction, said that some MPs essentially viewed the requirement to reintroduce the lifelong financial monitoring of PEPs as "a vote against their own families".
"Before that, the banking system mocked PEPs. This applies not only to current MPs and ministers, but also to people who were MPs or ministers 30 years ago. In 2020, this law was passed, after which the banking system simply refused to serve almost all family members, closing accounts without any explanation," Mr Arakhamia claimed.
In late March, the IMF Executive Board approved a four-year loan to Ukraine of USD 15.6 billion in the form of Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The Fund's mission in Ukraine started working in late May.
Ukraine received the second tranche of USD 890 million from the IMF at the end of June, and the first tranche of USD 2.7 billion, immediately after the programme was approved in early April.
