Tax increases and more. The media named the main requirements of the IMF to Ukraine

During the fifth review of the EFF Extended Fund Facility program, the International Monetary Fund is likely to require Ukraine to devalue the hryvnia, cut its discount rate and raise taxes. Fulfillment of these conditions will allow Kyiv to receive the next loan tranche of $1.1 billion. This was reported by Bloomberg, UNN , citing its own sources.

Context

On September 2, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the launch of the fifth review of the EFF Extended Fund Facility program, which is being conducted by the IMF Mission to Ukraine. According to him, this will allow the Ukrainian budget to receive $1.1 billion this fall.

"According to people familiar with the situation, Ukrainian officials expect the International Monetary Fund to push Ukraine this week to devalue its currency faster, cut its discount rate and step up tax collection measures to fill the country's budget deficit," the newspaper writes, citing anonymous sources.

The results of the EFF review could unlock a $1.1 billion disbursement to Ukraine if the IMF mission decides that Ukraine is meeting program targets and has sufficient funds to meet its financing needs.

The journalists point out that the IMF also criticized the Ukrainian government's plan to increase taxes and called it too lenient.

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During its work in Ukraine, the IMF Mission will, among other things, check the implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund. According to this document, Ukraine, among other things, undertook to develop a procedure for appointing the managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund through an open competition, to make appropriate changes to the legislation, and to transparently appoint a new head of the Fund in the spring of 2025. However, so far, the Ukrainian side has not fulfilled this obligation.

The issue of appointing the head of the DGF has now become even more urgent. After all, the previous head of the Fund, Svitlana Recruit, resigned from her post, and now the First Deputy Managing Director Olga Bilai is acting as Managing Director.

After Recruit's dismissal, it became known that the Fund's Administrative Board plans to appoint a new head in a closed session . Currently, two main candidates are being considered - Bilyi and Pavlo Polarush, head of the National Bank's Department for Work with Troubled Assets, who is called by the media the main contender for this post. 

The journalists found out that Polarush repeatedly traveled abroad after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, the journalists reported that in November 2022 he received permission to leave the country from the odious former Deputy Minister of Defense, who is currently a suspect in corruption crimes. The permit was allegedly issued to Polarush to travel abroad in an elite Lexus car to receive humanitarian aid. However, it is not yet known on what grounds Polarush traveled abroad from February to November 2022.

Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Mykola Velychkovych believesthat law enforcement should investigate Polarush's travels abroad. And a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, Hennadiy Kasai , does not rule outthat Polarush may have problems during the special vetting process as a candidate for the position of managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

At the same time, MPs and experts interviewed by UNN emphasize that the election of the new head of the Deposit Guarantee Fund should be transparent and open. And one of the main selection criteria, along with professionalism, should be the candidate's crystal clear business reputation. 

"It is extremely important to have an impeccable reputation. This is the key. It is important that this person has a decent reputation, is definitely a specialist and a patriot of Ukraine, and does not represent the interests of someone else," MP Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk emphasized .