As reported by , while there are numerous examples of high-level corruption in Ukraine, a few stand out for their sheer brazenness. In one case, $1.8 billion of an IMF loan to Ukraine meant to support the banking system insteaddisappearedinto various offshore accounts affiliated with PrivatBank in Ukraine, which is owned by Ihor Kolomoisky — one of Ukraine’s leading oligarchs.

Thanks to the anticorruption group Nashi Groshi (“Our Money”) thedetailshave come to light. Forty-two Ukrainian import firms owned by 54 offshore entities borrowed $1.8 billion from PrivatBank. The offshore firms then used the IMF money to order goods from fictional “suppliers,” with the $1.8 billion in loans from PrivatBank secured by the goods on order.

However, when the fictional suppliers inevitably did not fulfill their end of the bargain, PrivatBank was left holding the bag with its $1.8 billion gone offshore. As a Nashi Groshi investigatornoted, “this transaction of $1.8 billion abroad with the help of fake contracts was simply an asset siphoning operation.” Unfortunately for Ukrainians — as well as Western taxpayers who fund the IMF — neither Kolomoisky nor anyone else in Ukraine has been held accountable and the case faded from public view in Kiev.

bbabo.Net