The findings, revealed in an investigative report by Süddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper, noted that this is more than one-tenth of the state budget’s revenue and twice the amount the country is seeking in loans from the IMF, the World Bank and the European Union in 2018.

It analysed customs clearance documents and transport invoices to identify schemes where custom duties have been avoided.

One scheme involved altering the marking on goods imported into the country. 

This results in the state missing out on thousands of euros on every batch imported under the corrupt scheme, information agency UNIAN said.

According to the report, it is believed that Ukrainian police, prosecutors and security operatives are involved in the schemes.

A PWC poll found that 48% of organisations in the country experienced economic crime in the last two years, while 56% of all fraud were perpetrated by internal actors.

The European Union has condemned the Ukrainian authorities for not taking enough efforts to tackle corruption in the country in the past.