The figures are still uncertain and changing. Since February 2022, between 40,000 and 100,000 Ukrainians have died directly because of the conflict. It is as many bodies that you have to bury. And the intense pain of some makes others happy. According to the Wall Street Journal, corruption has raged in the funeral sector in recent years.
Systemic corruption was already part of the daily life of the Ukrainians before entering war. Transparency International, an NGO specializing in the fight against corruption on a global scale, has hunted Ukraine on this point for many years. She has always considered it very corrupt. Even today, Ukraine ranks 105th in the 180 countries studied by the organization. “War creates a fertile ground for the emergence of new corruption combins in which criminals take advantage of people mourning”explains Mykola Lysko, police inspector.
The main dates of war in Ukraine
Bribes to bury war dead
One of the most encountered maneuver in recent times has taken place between funeral officials and municipal representatives. Families who lose a loved one on the front are entitled to aid of 320 euros from the State to bury it. If they take this money, they can decide where the body is buried but have no say to say the funeral company that dealt with it. The municipalities are launching tenders for professionals. The most competitive has the right to organize the funeral but also sometimes to seek several bodies on the forehead.
According to several Ukrainians, some funeral directors pay bribes to local authorities to win tenders. Their terms are sometimes even written specifically with the aim of winning a particular business, especially around the specifics of coffins.
Ukraine must start preparing a future without corruption
The number of cases for corruption passing before the court has increased by 10% in four years in Ukraine. The trials concerning the bribes received by the local authorities within the framework of funeral are multiplying. But the phenomenon does not slow down.
However, if the end of the war still seems far, this situation could seriously prejudice kyiv after the conflict. Volodymyr Zelensky would like to integrate the European Union. But, without real measures to restrict corruption, member countries will not be able to validate the Ukrainian candidacy. Western financial and military aid could also be questioned if the kyiv allies felt that their investments were used to finance acts of corruption.
