The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine hosted a roundtable discussion on the role of business associations in the fight against the shadow sector of economy . The event was attended by representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce, the European Business Association, the Ukrtiutiun Association, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, Diia.City United, CEO Club Ukraine, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Ukraine), the Association of Distributors of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation (UKNOIPI), and Oleksandr Maksymenko, Head of the Investment Protection Department of the General Prosecutor's Office.

The participants discussed possible formats of cooperation between the ESB and business communities, information exchange, training of specialists, etc.

One of the proposals supported by the roundtable participants was to hold similar events on a quarterly basis on the basis of associations and specialised unions.

"Such meetings contribute not only to a better understanding of the processes taking place in the ESB by business, but can also be useful for ESB specialists in combating the shadow economy. That is why we would like them to be systematic", said Dmytro Lutsenko, Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Distributors.

The participants also discussed the results of the work of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine. The majority of the participants believed that the ESB's effectiveness has recently increased.

In particular, the Association "Ukrtiutiun" noted that over the past two years, law enforcement and regulatory authorities have done a huge amount of work.

"The Association's member companies hope that the positive dynamics and pace of work of the Economic Security Bureau and other authorities in this area will continue in the future", said Natalia Fesyun, CEO of the Association, during the meeting.

This opinion is shared by representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce.

"Despite the fact that less than two months have passed since the inspections were carried out, we are already seeing the first results. The tax revenues from tobacco excise taxes to the budget are growing and this is the most important effect of the work of law enforcement authorities", said Mykhailo Polyakov, Co-Chair of the Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of Ukraine.

In her turn, Natalia Artemchuk, a representative of the European Business Association, noted that companies also feel the results of cooperation between the ESB and business, which has recently become much better.