’The west is wrong to write off Ukraine’s debts’ | World news | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/ukraine-debts-lebedev-corruption
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, they say, and so it may be with the west’s approach to Ukraine.
On 11 March the International Monetary Fund announced a $40bn assistance package to Kiev, consisting of $17.5bn in new loans and $15-20bn write-offs of previous ones. Such a programme may well help any normal country, but the situation in Ukraine is far from normal.
Before the former government was overthrown and then president Viktor Yanukovych fled for Moscow in February 2014, the country was renowned for its corrupt leadership. Yanukovych, convicted of robbery and assault under Soviet rule, is alleged to have received a share of each hryvnia (Ukrainian currency) that passed through the economy.
According to western analysts, the overall scale of corruption reached 14% of GDP during the early 2010s, or roughly $30bn a year.
We believe that a significant proportion of this ended in the pockets of the president and his family, or in the accounts of the oligarchs and other close associates of the ruling clan.
For years these elites salted away their illicit profits in banks accounts around the world, with the west turned a blind eye.
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Between 2010 and 2014, Ukraine was something unknown in modern history – a private state. All her neighbours, as well as all countries dealing with Kiev, are extremely invested in preventing this from happening again. It’s impossible to believe that none of those discussing the restructuring of the Ukrainian debt today were unaware of what happened in those years in Ukraine. Some knew this better than those who just sent planes with cash to Ukrainian banks or those who charged exhorbitant fees for “legal advice” for Ukrainian oligarchs settled in Europe.
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We strongly believe that the holders of Ukraine’s government debt must rethink the conditions for dealing with this country and realise that rather than helping, debt relief may mean a full amnesty for a corrupt clique who has brought the nation to its knees. If the international community wants to fight against global corruption, Ukraine may be the best place to start.