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 The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) explained Ukraine's history of corruption in a 2006 report:

"From the early 1990s, powerful officials in [the Ukrainian] government and politics acquired and privatized key economic resources of the state. As well, shadowy businesses, allegedly close to organized crime, became powerful economic forces in several regions of the country. Over the course of the past decade, these business groupings—or clans—as they became called, grew into major financial-industrial structures that used their very close links with and influence over government, political parties, the mass media and the state bureaucracy to enlarge and fortify their control over the economy and sources of wealth. They used ownership ties, special privileges, relations with government and direct influence over the courts and law enforcement and regulatory organizations to circumvent weaknesses in governmental institutions."

Corruption is so pervasive in Ukraine that in 2011, 68.8% of Ukrainian citizens reported that they had bribed a public official within the preceding twelve months. Bribery and facilitation payments are common schemes by which Ukrainian officials demand payment in exchange for ensuring public services are delivered either on time or at all. Corruption also presents an obstacle to private and public business in Ukraine. In 2011, then-President Petro Poroshenko estimated that 15%, or $7.4 billion, of the state budget "ends up in the pockets of officials" through corrupt public procurement practices.

Pervasive corruption in Ukraine has been one of the primary impediments to Ukraine joining the European Union. Corruption-related concerns also figure prominently in the E.U. Ukrainian Association Agreement, the document establishing a political and economic 15