OREANDA-NEWS. February 09, 2016. If in 2014 the deficit of the NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine made up US\\$ 10 billion, last year - US\\$ 1 billion, this year Naftogaz will become profitable for the first time, said Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Friday, February 5, during An Hour of Questions to the Government in Parliament.

The Prime Minister stressed that over the past ten years the biggest corruption in Ukraine could be observed in the gas sector: "Billions of dollars that have been pumped out of the state-owned company Naftogaz of Ukraine, dozens mediators, hundreds companies and shadow contracts with the Russian Federation led to the looting of billions of dollars from the pockets of taxpayers."

"All the antecedent Prime Ministers and Governments were talking. This Government has succeeded. No more intermediaries, no more shadow Russian companies - just direct agreements", he stressed.

The Government has also succeeded to regain control over the company Ukrnafta: "There were heard numerous advice of how to do it. However, they forgot that as Prime Ministers they signed an illegal deal with shareholders of Ukrnafta, enabling a minority shareholder to further exercise control over the company".

"We submitted to the Parliament a law, you supported it, so we have yielded a result", he appealed to the parliamentarians.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that dividends from Ukrnafta worth UAH 1 billion 790 million were directed to the State budget of Ukraine in full amount on 30 December 2015.

In addition, the company was charged a fine for the untimely payment of dividends: "We filed lawsuits to the tune of UAH 9.7 billion. All the property has been seized. We do our job".

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also stressed that within two years the Government had managed to return to the state ownership "all public companies that notorious oligarchs from the Regions Party had under the so-called lease or concession agreements".

"They said that it is impossible to clean up corrupt officials. We embarked on the lustration process, eight hundred corrupt officials were fired as a result of the cleansing power. And this is a real fight against corruption", he stressed.

"Everybody told that it is impossible to change the system of appointing directors of state-owned companies. Yes, it is difficult. Of course, there is political pressure, and you heard that in a statement by Minister of economy Aivaras Abromavicius", said the Head of Government.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed: "I will freeze out any attempts to put pressure on A.Abromavichus or to take against him any illegal actions. This Minister is under the protection of my faction and the Government."