“It’s complicated with fresh faces at customs,” the Minister of Finance commented on Denys Pudryk’s appointment to the Odessa customs

The Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko stated that in terms of professional qualities, there had been no issues concerning Denys Pudryk before he was appointed the head of the Odessa customs. It's the same Prudyk who was in charge of the Crimean customs during Viktor Yanukovych's presidency and a great candidate for authority clean-out.

He expressed this in the interview with Radio Liberty.

"I am often asked about certain people being appointed to customs. We, as the Ministry of Finance, must approve the appointment of regional leaders by law. On request of the customs administration, we do such approval. We can look at the presence or absence of criminal proceedings against the person. It may become a reason for us not to select them. We also interview candidates. I think it's hard to assess the integrity of a person based on the results of interviews, inquiries, etc.  

With Denys Pudryk, there was no controversy about him before his appointment. Then the press brought up questions about his wealth, etc. I think you can ask Denys Pudryk. He'll explain how he accumulated his property," the Minister said. 

When asked if he now regrets that they've approved this candidate for a key point of customs in Ukraine, Marchenko said: "I don't know how I would've acted, knowing the resonance. Would I have checked him for his wealth, asked this question to Denys Pudryk? I might've asked. One could look up a lot of things. But in terms of professional qualities, we had no questions. "

To the journalist's statement that Pudryk is not a "fresh face," the Minister of Finance replied: "It's complicated with fresh faces at customs. All of them there are practically the same. The question is: do they meet the figures?"

According to the Minister, the customs have achieved the planned rates starting from May.

"May, June, July, August – one hundred percent performance," the Minister said. He added that until May they didn't fulfill the plan. As per him, the shortage was on average up to 5 billion hryvnias, and now there is no shortage.