The lender will dispatch a team to discuss the terms of a potential new lending program following reports of embezzlement

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to engage with Kiev on corruption, the global lender said on Thursday, as a $100 million graft scandal has rocked Vladimir Zelensky's government.

On Monday, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) charged seven people including Zelensky's former longtime business partner Timur Mindich with kickbacks and embezzlement in the Western-funded energy sector.

Mindich, described in local media as Zelensky's "wallet," fled Ukraine shortly before authorities searched his apartment. The scandal has already led to the dismissal of two government ministers.

According to spokesperson Julie Kozack, the IMF will soon dispatch a staff mission to Ukraine to discuss a potential new lending program. "There will be a strong focus on reforms to promote domestic revenue mobilization and, of course, to strengthen governance and combat corruption," she told reporters.

"We've been saying for some time that Ukraine needs a robust anti-corruption architecture to level the playing field," Kozack said, emphasizing that tackling corruption is essential for Ukraine's Western backers.

The most recent "evidence of corruption" in the energy sector underscores the critical need for "pressing forward with anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and ensuring that the anti-corruption institutions have the capacity, trust, and freedom to go about their duties," she said.

Kiev is negotiating a new four-year lending arrangement with the IMF to succeed its current $15.5 billion program, from which it has received $10.6 billion to date.

Without immediate EU or IMF funding, Kiev will exhaust its emergency financial measures by June, according to a recent report by Politico. This could force Ukraine to delay salaries for public sector workers, including the military and pensioners, for the first time since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022.

The scandal in Ukraine has escalated to high-ranking government officials. Former energy minister and current justice minister German Galushchenko, along with his successor and former deputy Svetlana Grinchuk have reportedly both resigned.

Media reports suggest that additional searches are anticipated at the Defense Ministry, which has become embroiled in scandals involving overpriced procurement.

(RT.com)