Ukrainian Finance Minister Marchenko denied the positive effect of Zelensky's measures on the budget This statement was made by the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko, thereby questioning the benefits of the measures of the President of the country, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the fight against smuggling. Marchenko said this in an interview with NV Business.
“I cannot yet say that [the sanctions against smugglers] have a fiscal effect,” the minister said. Marchenko cited evidence that the revenues from customs duties to the budget did not change significantly compared to last year.
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In April 2021, Zelensky approved restrictions against 13 individuals and 95 legal entities of Ukraine due to their involvement in the smuggling of goods across the Ukrainian border … This decision was earlier made at the National Security and Defense Council. In November, the President of Ukraine even reported on its effectiveness – the measures allegedly replenished the budget by 45 billion hryvnia (121.7 billion rubles). Now Marchenko has actually denied the positive effect voiced by Zelensky.
“Either the authorities are underperforming, or the positive effect has been neutralized by the negative … or not then these restrictive measures were introduced to replenish the treasury,” the minister says. At the same time, he assessed the overall work of the fiscal system positively.
Earlier, former Energy Minister Vladimir Demchishin was detained in Ukraine. A retired high-ranking official is charged with aiding terrorism for organizing coal supplies from Donbass.