largest foreign direct investment ever for Ukraine. Many companies, owned by foreigners, have been successfully operating in Ukraine since its independence. These include companies in agriculture, such as Kyiv-Atlantic Group, founded in 1994 by David Sweere. He sold its business in Minnesota and invested in Ukraine, believing in its huge potential. The company has been operating at a profit since 2002. As a result, he became the fifth richest among the Westerners who made their fortune in Ukraine. In 2016, foreign direct investment in Ukraine's economy amounted to $3.8 billion in 2016, which was almost twice more than in 2015. Monetary policy and banking Stock exchange Insurance business and companies Legal environment and economic support Background Since the late 1990s, the government has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. In 2003 the International Monetary Fund encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and threatened to withdraw financial support. On 24 June 2010, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko signed an agreement on free trade with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2012–2013 "the country's most important challenge is the needed overhaul of its institutional framework, which cannot be relied on because it suffers from red tape, lack of transparency, and favoritism". In reports by Kyiv Post in 2010 and 2011 respectively, a "double taxation avoidance" treaty with Cyprus signed in 1982 by the Soviet Union has cost Ukraine billions of US dollars of tax revenues. The 2014 Lustration in Ukraine has been criticized as it might have adverse economic effects. On 29 May 2014 Ukraine entered into the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, that reached its full application on 1 September 2017. Foreign workers A number of foreign guest workers come to work in Ukraine, mainly in seasonal farm work and construction industry, especially from neighboring Moldova and Belarus. Environmental issues Ukraine is interested in cooperating on regional environmental issues. Conservation of natural resources is a stated high priority, although implementation suffers from a lack of financial resources. Ukraine established its first nature preserve, Askania-Nova, in 1921 and has programs to breed endangered species. Ukraine has a Ministry of Environment and has introduced a pollution fee system that levies taxes on air and water emissions and solid waste disposal. The resulting revenues are channelled