Poroshenko announces a number of steps to deter individuals from creating offshore accounts
In an interview with Ukrainian media, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a number of steps for “deoffshorization.”
“Attempts to prohibit the creation of and transfer of assets to offshore companies only led to an increase in their numbers. It is absolutely a dead end. I would like to present new steps which we should take to implement an effective, rapid and deep ‘deoffshorization’ process,” he said.
President Poroshenko announced that he assigned the Ministry of Finance, State Fiscal Service to ensure Ukraine’s accession to the International Interdepartmental Convention. This should ensure Ukraine’s access to non-resident accounts. He added that after the Convention is signed—no later than January 1, 2017—Ukraine will automatically receive information from all over the world about accounts opened by Ukrainian residents in any foreign bank.
Poroshenko also stated that in the near future the draft legislation on the status of foreign controlled companies will be submitted to Verkhovna Rada.
Reporters from 76 countries have processed over 11 million documents on offshore companies and their owners. President Poroshenko himself was a subject of investigation in Ukraine. Journalists and investigators claimed that contrary to Poroshenko’s statements, he has not yet transferred his assets into a trust. However, he has started to restructure his Roshen Confectionary Corporation assets by establishing three offshore companies for that purpose.
Later, the law firm Avellum, a legal adviser of Poroshenko, stated that establishing companies in foreign jurisdiction was the only possible way to move Poroshenko’s assets into a reliable international trust structure.