Yatsenyuk government, PM’s associates accused of corruption

By Vladimir V. Sytin
The Ukrainian Times

Recently, out of the blue, Nikolai Martynenko, member of Ukraine’s parliament and close associate of the so-called prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has waived the mandate of a deputy of the Supreme Council. Previously, MP Sergey Leschenko publicized documents evidencing that the shady Panamanian company, which is owned by Martynenko, had received huge kickbacks from contracts between the state company Energoatom and the Czech company Skoda to supply equipment to the Khmelnitskiy nuclear power plant.

Many observers think that by waiving his mandate, Martynenko attempts to whitewash the Yatsenyuk government, which continues to wallow in corruption. Critics agree that this government is so corrupt, even more than the previous Azarov government. It is widely believed that the ministers are interested only in self benefit and they give some crumbs to the people.

Also, readers of The Ukrainian Times know that Nikolai Gordienko, former head of the State Financial Inspection Board, presented the facts of violations committed by the companies, which were financed at the expense of the Ukrainian state budget. According to him, the U.S.-backed puppet government of Ukraine received kickbacks from dummy firms through close associates of Yatsenyuk.

At the meeting of a parliamentary committee on counteraction against corruption Mr. Gordienko stated that damage done by the corrupt entourage of Yatsenyuk had amounted to 3.5 billion grivnas in the second half of last year alone. For instance, the violations exposed at the state rail transportation company UkrZaliznitsa are estimated at 300 million grn. “According to my estimates, the damage done by the corrupt government will amount to dozens of billions if you conduct a planned audit to the full,” he concluded.

It is small wonder that Transparency International’s Global Corruption Index ranks Ukraine 142nd out of 175 states. After the neo-Nazi coup in Kiev last year, this country has a worse record than after the ‘orange’ coup in 2004.

Practically all sectors of Ukraine’s government, business and civic life are affected by widespread corruption. Bribery and extortion are particularly common in the Ukrainian public health system. To make matters worse, the living standards of Ukrainians are being squeezed to death in order to pay off fraudulent debts incurred by the corrupt Yatsenyuk government.