Ukraine cabinet dismisses fiscal service head

The Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine decided on Sept. 5 to dismiss Myroslav Prodan, the acting
head of the State Fiscal Service, which is responsible for collecting state
revenue and taxes, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. He submitted a
request for his own dismissal, also declaring his intention to participate in a
competition to appoint the body’s permanent head. His dismissal is reported to
be related to a prosecutor general’s investigation into misappropriation of
funds.

Zenon Zawada: Alleged corruption at a state body
as lucrative as the State Fiscal Service comes as no surprise. What’s
significant here is that Prodan belongs to the entourage of Prime Minister
Volodymyr Groysman, while the prosecutor general’s office is controlled by
President Poroshenko. So the investigations indicate tensions between the two
leaders and their inability to form a political alliance ahead of the
presidential election campaign (the elections are expected in March
2019). Such an alliance
would have “ironed out” any alleged corruption.

While Groysman was elected to parliament in 2014 as a candidate with the
Poroshenko Bloc, it’s unlikely he will compete with the same party in the
October 2019 parliamentary elections.
He will likely compete for a single-mandate district (if they remain) as an
independent representing his native Vinnytsia, where he remains very popular.
He will remain an influential player in Ukrainian politics, particularly if
he’s able to avoid damage to his image from the natural gas price hikes that
are being demanded by the IMF mission, which starts its talks with the
government today.