Criminal proceedings initiated on the fact of possible abuse of office by officials of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency will inevitably affect the reputation of the institution both domestically and abroad. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by lawyer Ihor Chobitko, former head of the Public Council at ARMA.
Details
Last week it became known about the initiation of criminal proceedings on the fact of possible abuse of office by ARMA officials. The actions of officials will be checked due to alleged illegal actions during the transfer of the Trade Unions House to management, which were voiced in a journalistic investigation. So far, no one has been charged.
As Ihor Chobitko noted, the criminal proceedings will definitely hit ARMA's reputation, and the issue of possible personnel changes in the agency's leadership directly depends on the results of the investigation.
Any criminal proceedings initiated on the grounds of a criminal offense committed by ARMA employees will undoubtedly affect the reputation of the national agency, both in the country and abroad. This is undoubtedly true. As for whether the head Olena Duma will be dismissed based on the results of the investigation. We will be able to see this based on the results of this investigation
According to the expert, the situation once again emphasizes the need for an independent audit of ARMA, which is provided for by the adopted reform.
An independent audit should have been done yesterday, but it is still not there. Therefore, if this audit had been done, perhaps the investigation would have been more effective, because it would have been clear about the state of affairs in ARMA itself.
Recall
ARMA is not for the first time in the epicenter of high-profile stories related to the transfer of assets to management. For example, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, stated that the Russian share of corporate rights of the company "Venta.LTD" is being transferred to the management of persons probably connected with the owner. In addition, for several days there was a scandal due to a probable conflict of interest of the deputy head of ARMA Grigol Katamadze in the story with the sale of "UkrBud".
The Verkhovna Rada has already unblocked the signing of the law on ARMA reform, which provides for an independent audit of the agency and a new transparent procedure for selecting its head.
Numerous scandals and criminal proceedings due to alleged abuses by ARMA officials only prove that the reform of the institution and an independent audit must take place as soon as possible. This has already been stated even in parliament.