Ukraine Tightens Currency Controls as IMF Deal Gives Little Help
Ukrainians gathered in Kiev to mark the one year anniversary of the Euromaidan on Feb. 22, 2015.
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Less than two weeks after the International Monetary Fund announced a $17.5 billion bailout loan for Ukraine, the central bank tightened capital controls to prevent the country from running out of foreign currency.
In spite of what has been pledged, Ukraine hasn’t received a major injection of IMF cash since a $1.4 billion disbursement on Sept. 3, the lender’s website shows. With its foreign reserves dropping 61 percent to $6.4 billion in the four months through January, the country’s “cupboard is basically bare,” said Timothy Ash from Standard Bank Group Plc.