Professor: 30 percent of the support to Ukraine disappears in corruption

Up to 30 percent of the support to Ukraine disappears in corruption. That’s the claim made by American economics professor Steve Hanke.

Steve Hanke is a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He served as an economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and played a role in the Baltic states’ efforts to break free from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s with his ideas on creating their own currencies.

“Sanctions are for losers”

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Steve Hanke has also spoken out on the conflict on several occasions. Among other things, he has claimed that the sanctions against Russia are ineffective.

“I like the quote ‘sanctions are for losers’ and we have a long history of engaging in it,” he said in February 2022.

“We have these eternal sanctions against Cuba, has it changed anything? We have eternal sanctions against North Korea, has it changed anything? We have had sanctions against Venezuela for quite some time, has it changed anything? We have had sanctions against Iran, has it changed anything? No, it doesn’t work!”

Hanke argues that sanctions are an act of war and that they strengthen the leadership in the countries subjected to them. He also believes that Putin has become more, not less, popular because of the Western world’s sanctions.

On Ukraine’s shitlist

Following his critical statements about the sanctions against Russia, Steve Hanke ended up on Ukraine’s official list “Debaters promoting narratives in line with Russian propaganda.”

Mariinsky Palace in Kiev is the president’s official residence. Wikipedia

The list, which also includes journalists Jeffrey Sachs and Tucker Carlson, as well as actor Steven Seagal, is intended to “inform and prevent attempts to manipulate public opinion in Ukraine.”

However, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, which created the list, is careful to point out that “the individuals listed are not Russian propagandists, but they promote narratives that align with Russian propaganda.”

Support disappears in corruption

The American economics professor is unlikely to become more popular with the Ukrainian leadership when, in a new video he uploaded to social media, he points out that corruption in Ukraine is extensive.

“If we look at the total amount of money pumped into Ukraine since 2022, it’s about 360 billion dollars,” Steve Hanke says in the video and continues:

“And out of that, I estimate that corruption is somewhere between 15 and 30 percent. Likely closer to 30 percent. That’s what the auditors found regarding the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan. Corruption took about 30 percent in Afghanistan, and I think it’s pretty close to that in Ukraine.”

According to Steve Hanke, as much as 100 billion dollars of the support to Ukraine may have disappeared in corruption.

“It’s about large sums of money,” Steve Hanke concludes.