The privatization process is related to the transfer of a state-owned company to the private sector. Vouchers can be used in this process. They were used in Central and Eastern European countries after the end of the Soviet Union, as an attempt to get past with the communist regime and embrace the free-market system. It is generally defined as a transfer of government holdings to the public for less than their full economic value. In some countries the transfer was practically free and foreign participation was forbidden.