Svitlana Rekrut, Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, should be dismissed so that she does not tarnish the reputation of the Ukrainian authorities and she should be held criminally liable for using cars belonging to Megabank, which is in the process of liquidation, for her own trips abroad. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by Viktor Bobirenko, head of the expert group of the Bureau of Policy Analysis.
"From the point of view of common European sense, this person (Rekrut - ed.) must resign from her position. That is, those who nominated her for this position should definitely respond to these facts. This is obvious," Bobirenko said.
He added that one of the main EU standards is the institution of business reputation, and Ukraine, as a country trying to become a member of the European Union, must also comply with it.
"One of the main standards of the EU - it is usually not written - is the institution of reputation. If you get dirty, you leave, if you get caught in corruption, you leave. Flying with your family on public funds is a loss of face and, in fact, a farewell to politics, so as not to set the team up," Bobirenko said.
At the same time, he said, if Rekrut does not resign, her actions will tarnish the entire government in the country.
"If they don't do this (release Rekrut - ed.), it will be another stain on the Ukrainian government and it proves once again that we claim to be fighting for European values, but we don't profess them ourselves. We will never become Europeans like this until there is political accountability. I am not talking about criminal responsibility," Bobirenko summarized.
Add
During a journalistic investigation conducted by UNN, it turned out that in 2023 , Rekrut spent more than 100 days abroad or on the way there or back, which is almost half of all working days of the year. In 2022, her trips totaled more than 80 days.
It is noteworthy that according to Svitlana Rekrut's declaration, in 2022 she received compensation from the DGF for excessive travel expenses in the amount of over UAH 65 thousand.
At the same time, the DGF press service in 2022-2023 reported only three international events that took place abroad with Svitlana Rekrut's personal participation.
In addition, during the investigation, UNN learned that Svitlana Rekrut repeatedly used two Toyota Camry cars belonging to Megabank JSC, which has been in the process of liquidation since July 2022, to travel abroad.
She started using one of the cars in October 2022.
According to the Law "On the Deposit Guarantee System", the property of a bank in liquidation may be used for the purpose of saving money only by a representative of the DGF who is part of the temporary administration. According to the website youcontrol , Svitlana Rekrut is not an authorized person from the DGF to liquidate JSC Megabank. Currently, the liquidation is carried out by Iryna Bila on behalf of the Fund.
In its responses to journalistic inquiries, the DGF claims that Svitlana Rekrut used cars owned by Megabank JSC exclusively for business trips and to save money.
However, according to UNN, on September 22, 2022, she traveled abroad in a Toyota Camry owned by Megabank JSC, together with her parents Valery and Valentina Rekrut. They returned to Ukraine three days later on September 25, 2022. It is worth noting that Svitlana Rekrut traveled from Thursday to Sunday, which means that it is unlikely that she was traveling with her parents on a business trip on the weekend in the car of the bank that is being liquidated.
Recall
Following a deputy appeal by Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption launched an investigation into a possible conflict of interest of Recruit when she used cars owned by Megabank for traveling abroad.
In addition, Megabank owner Viktor Subbotin plans to apply to law enforcement agencies regarding the use of bank cars by Rekrut for personal trips abroad and the sale of Megabank assets by the Fund at significantly reduced prices.
In response to a journalistic inquiry about Recruiter's travels abroad, the DGF reported that information on the movements of the Fund's officials (business trips, business trips, etc.) is official information with limited access, and added that Rekrut had appealed to law enforcement agencies regarding IA UNN.