WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund will start a staff mission to Ukraine soon to discuss its financing needs and a potential new lending program, spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday, underscoring the need for continued anti-corruption efforts in the war-torn country.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko on Thursday announced an audit of all state-owned companies, including in the energy sector, following an alleged $100 million corruption scandal that has led to the suspension of two cabinet ministers.
Anti-corruption authorities said this week they had detained five people and identified two others still at large, suspected of involvement in the alleged plot to control procurement at nuclear agency Energoatom and other state enterprises.
Kozack told reporters at a regular briefing that the IMF staff mission would center on policies to safeguard Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability and ensure its debt sustainability, with a focus on reforms to promote domestic revenue mobilization and to strengthen governance and combat corruption.
“We’ve been saying for some time that Ukraine needs a robust anti-corruption architecture to level the playing field, safeguard public resources, improve the business climate and attract investment,” Kozack said, calling efforts to fight corruption a central requirement for Ukraine’s donors.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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