People's deputies appealed to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal with a request to consider the dismissal of the head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, Olena Duma. The reason for this was the facts about the non-transparent management of seized assets, set out in a recent journalistic investigation. This was reported by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, writes UNN.
Details
According to a journalistic investigation, ARMA transferred the Trade Union House on Maidan Nezalezhnosti to the management of a consortium that includes a company that may be associated with one of the previous beneficiaries of the asset. The publication also mentioned the name of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration — Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna in the context of past family ties. She categorically denied any involvement in the possible scheme.
The депутатському зверненні йдеться про необхідність винести на розгляд Уряду питання щодо "контролю за діяльністю Національного агентства та звільнення з посади керівника Агентства з розшуку та менеджменту активів (АРМА) Олени Думи".
People's deputies point out that the published investigation refers to the possible existence of a conflict of interest in the process of transferring the arrested asset for management.
This division must be stopped. The head of ARMA - for dismissal
At the same time, the head of ARMA, Olena Duma, reported that the agency sent a statement to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine regarding a "comprehensive verification" of the information voiced by journalists. In particular, it concerns the provision of a full package of documents of the winner of the competition for the management of the Trade Union House in Kyiv to the NABU.
Whoever is afraid of checks has something to hide. We have nothing to hide
The appeal of people's deputies with a request to consider the issue of dismissal of the ARMA leadership to the Prime Minister indicates a growing demand for the restart of the agency's work.
Let us remind you
ARMA, under the leadership of Olena Duma, has repeatedly found itself at the center of scandals involving seized property. The latest investigation once again only underscores the arguments in favor of the urgent adoption of draft law 12374-d on reforming the system of management of seized property, which also provides for a transparent audit of the agency's work and new conditions for the appointment of the leadership of this body.
Olena Duma has repeatedly criticized draft law No. 12374-d on the reform of ARMA, which has already been supported by parliament in the first reading. She stated that the document "contains politically motivated norms" and "may harm the entire anti-corruption infrastructure." At the same time, she herself calls her work in ARMA a "real breakthrough." At the same time, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, believes that Olena Duma and her colleagues are "deliberately spreading false information" about the draft law on the reform of ARMA in order to preserve the existing ineffective system.
Transparency International Ukraine actually supported Anastasia Radina's position and stated that the resistance of the head of ARMA, Olena Duma, is nothing more than a reluctance to get rid of levers of influence. Anti-corruption experts conducted a content analysis of ARMA's public communication and came to the conclusion that instead of a constructive dialogue on reforming the institution, the agency built a campaign to discredit draft law No. 12374-d on changing the system of management of seized property and avoids any public recognition of its own mistakes.