UKRAINE….

Corruption continues to taint the highest levels of the government. Yulia Tymoshenko, the deputy prime minister for fuels and energy, is likely to be dismissed following the arrest last month of her husband Oleksandr Tymoshenko on charges of embezzlement, smuggling, forgery and tax evasion. The charges relate to the import-export business of United Energy Systems of Ukraine, which Yulia Tymoshenko chaired in 1995-1997 while Oleksandr served on the board of directors. The prosecutor alleges that UESU illegally exported $545 million in natural gas to Britain in 1996-1997, engaged in a number of other illegal transactions, and defrauded the state of taxes and duties. Some of the transactions allegedly involved former prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko, now in detention in the United States where he is fighting extradition and awaiting adjudication of his request for political asylum. Any comment from President Leonid Kuchma, who named both Lazarenko and Tymoshenko to their posts? “I cannot say that these are honest people,” he said.