The Ukrainian opposition will ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to abandon its plans to provide an almost $15-billion loan to Ukraine on the grounds that the money would be used in a "powerful" corruption scheme.
The fund said on its website on Saturday it would allocate Ukraine a $14.9 billion loan under a new cooperation program. The agreement is subject to approval by IMF management and Executive Board.
"We would make an open request to the IMF not to give the money to [President Viktor] Yanukovych because they want to use it to repay the $5.4-billion debt [of Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz] to RosUkrEnergo. Actually, they want to use the money in a powerful corruption [scheme]," parliamentary opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said.
The Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal ruled on June 8 that Naftogaz owes its former gas supply intermediary, Swiss-registered RosUkrEnergo, 11 billion cubic meters of gas, which the trader says was illegally confiscated in January 2009, as well as fines of 1.1 billion cubic meters.
Though the ex-prime minister praised cooperation with IMF as "necessary," she said that the loan was too large.
"Ukraine has no need of a $15 billion loan, it would be a great debt load, inadmissible at the moment. Today, Ukraine needs from three to five billion, maximum," she said.
Ukraine's current stand-by program, which began in 2008, amounts to $16.4 billion, with $11 billion already provided in three tranches. The fourth tranche of $3.8 billion was due in late 2009 but has not yet been disbursed because of the recent political instability.
KIEV, July 6 (RIA Novosti)
