Economic Security Bureau and IRS agree on strategic partnership and cooperation

The parties discussed the issues of establishing cooperation between the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine (ESBU) and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), conducting trainings for ESBU staff by IRS experts, and supporting the institutional development of the Ukrainian agency.

The online meeting between ESBU staff and IRS officials was facilitated by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova.

Vadym Melnyk, Director of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, briefed his American colleagues on the purpose of establishing an analytical and law enforcement agency, its development in times of war, its structure, the importance of analytics and risk-oriented approach to the analysis of criminal phenomena, and the prevention of violations in the economic sphere as the main task of the agency.

“ESBU is establishing cooperation with many international partners to build an effective analytical model to prevent and combat criminal activities in the economic sphere and protect the economy of Ukraine. Through joint mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as with the involvement of legal businesses, we will be able to combat the shadow sector, ensure competitive business conditions, and make the Ukrainian economy attractive for investment. Another area of cooperation between the ESBU and international partners is the search for and fight against laundering, in the EU and the USA, of money illegally obtained in Ukraine,” said the ESBU Director.

Holly Paz, Acting Commissioner of the IRS Large Business and International Division, Jennifer Best, Acting Deputy Commissioner, and Deborah Palacheck, Director of Cross Border Activities, expressed their interest in cooperation and thanked the ESBU representatives for the presentation of the agency.

As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed to establish bilateral cooperation between the ESBU and the IRS, provide methodological support, exchange information and experience in combating criminal activities in the field of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies, assess risks in the activities of international companies and other sectors of the economy. The parties agreed to hold a meeting with IRS experts responsible for various functional areas of the IRS to discuss the agenda of cooperation in detail.

The American side also confirmed its interest in organizing a working visit of the ESBU staff to the United States.