Due to corruption at customs, Ukraine loses more than 4 billion euros annually, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This is stated in an investigation by the Süddeutsche Zeitung published on August 6, reports DW.
“This is more than one tenth of the entire budget revenue and 2 times more than the amount that Ukraine wants to receive from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the World Bank in 2018,” the investigation says.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, relying on documents, customs and waybills, describes the fraud used to avoid duties.
Goods imported into the country change their marking during the customs registration process, for example, umbrellas turn into brushes or mirrors - and only on one shipment the state loses thousands of euros.
According to the German publication, police officers, prosecutors and the SBU are involved in fraud at customs. For illegal transactions, new firms are formed, which are controlled by people from the environment of customs officers, prosecutors and police officers.
According to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2018% of Ukrainian companies faced corruption and bribery in 73, compared to 56% of respondents in 2016. At the same time, this figure averages 25% in the world.
A third of companies surveyed in Ukraine said they had received offers to pay a bribe in the last two years. Overall, almost half of respondents believe that they have dealt with economic crimes – 5% more than two years ago.
According to PwC, the most common such crimes in Ukraine remain, along with corruption and bribes, misappropriation of assets (62% in 2016, 46% in 2018) and procurement fraud (25% and 33%).