KYIV, March 4 – The decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruling unconstitutional Article 268-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illicit enrichment) is a serious setback in the fight against corruption in Ukraine, according to a joint statement of the G7 and the World Bank.

"The recent elimination of the illicit enrichment offence from the criminal code is a serious setback in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. This has weakened the impact of the whole anti-corruption architecture, including the soon to be established High Anti-Corruption Court, which was expected to rule on a significant number of illicit enrichment cases, and the ability of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to investigate high-level corruption," the G7 ambassadors said in a statement posted on the official Twitter microblog on Monday.