Ukraine minister: We can end corruption
Ukraine can stamp out corruption in its economy because the country is committed to reform, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said Friday.
"The Ukrainian nation has never been this united in its desire to seek a European future, one that's based on transparency, on these kinds of values," Jaresko said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "There's no room for half measures any more. ... You can't be half pregnant with reform."
The country is in the midst of a war with pro-Russian rebels and has sought to strengthen ties with Europe following a popular uprising that brought an end to the presidency of its Kremlin-backed leader last year.
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There is enormous pressure on Ukraine's government to end the corruption that plagued the rule of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, she said.
Jaresko said Kiev has initiated a number of policy initiatives that will change the way the country does business, including electronic procurement and reforming state-owned enterprises to make them more transparent.
Ukraine has also cut out intermediaries in its gas trade, which acted as middle men for more than two decades and were responsible for skimming hundreds of millions dollars.
It has also passed laws to ban related-party lending, or loans that are made by institutions with special relationships.
"We've had banks fail because bank owners and related parties to the bank owners have in essence through fraud, through mismanagement, through criminal activity, cause these banks to fail, and they ought to be held to account," Jaresko said.
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Ukraine minister: We can end corruption