Latest update : 2017-12-14
Ukraine's finance minister says anti-corruption court should satisfy IMF
Ukraine has promised to step up efforts against corruption in an effort to resolve an impasse with its international lenders. A bill establishing an anti-corruption court will be put to parliament in February, according to the country's justice minister. Stephen Carroll asks Ukraine's Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk whether it will satisfy the IMF.
Ukraine's finance minister says the establishment of an anti-corruption court was a "number one priority" for the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF had recently criticised Kiev over an attempt by lawmakers to roll back on efforts to fight corruption.
On Wednesday, the country's justice minister responded to international pressure by announcing a bill establishing an independent court would go to parliament in February.
'Missing link'
Speaking to FRANCE 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said the court was the missing link in the clampdown on graft.
"Without a proper functioning anti-corruption court, there will never [be] well-functioning anti-corruption infrastructure. At the moment we have all the elements… what is missing is this link, the last element is the anti-corruption court," he said.
The IMF agreed a $17.5 billion bailout with Kiev in 2015, but payment of the latest tranche has been held up as reforms to pensions and gas subsidies have been delayed.
In spite of this, the finance minister said his government has a "pretty good relationship" with the Fund.
'Very ambitious' reforms
"The programme is due to finish in 2018. We are slightly behind… because the reforms in the programme are very ambitious."
"I don’t know many countries in the world, if actually any country in the world, that managed to do as much as we did over the last three years."
Ukraine's economy suffered a deep recession after a conflict with Russian-backed separatists sliced a fifth off its industrial output.
The country returned to growth last year, and Danyliuk said the economy has moved away from trade with Russia towards greater exchanges with the European Union.
"We’re exploring other markets, not just as a state, but individual companies too. And the country is reorienting from the unstable Russian markets to more predictable, competitive, depoliticised markets."
