ARMA was created as an instrument of corruption, and the audit confirmed it - expert

ARMA was created as an instrument of corruption, and the audit confirmed it - expert

Kyiv  •  UNN

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An audit by the Accounting Chamber has revealed serious problems in the work of the ARMA in managing seized assets. Security expert Serhiy Shabovta believes that the agency needs a complete reboot.

The results of the Accounting Chamber's audit of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency only confirmed that this body was originally created as a mechanism that allowed for non-transparent decisions on the management of seized assets. Security expert Serhiy Shabovta believes that the audit report should become the basis for fundamental changes in the work of the ARMA, UNN reports.

The key problem is that ARMA was created and described in the regulations in such a way as to be an instrument of corruption, to conceal the real money received for this or that property,

- Shabovta emphasized.

The expert supported the position of Transparency International, which had previously emphasized the need for fundamental changes in the work of the ARMA.

It should be a fairly collegial decision. As for the reform of the body. And Transparency, in my opinion, was right to say that everything needs to be changed radically,

- he noted.

At the same time, Shabovta is skeptical about the possibility of rapid change. 

The problem is that when absolutely everything is corrupt, you can't expect someone in the leadership to suddenly repent and implement reforms,

- the expert summarized.

Therefore, in his opinion, the audit results should be the starting point for a complete reboot of the agency.

Context

Recently, the Accounting Chamber conducted an audit of ARMA for 2022-2023 and the first half of 2024, which revealed significant problems in the management of seized assets. In particular, the auditors emphasized the following problems: imperfect mechanisms for selecting managers and appraisers of confiscated assets; incomplete data on assets in the register; unregulated relations between ARMA and prosecutors and pre-trial investigation bodies.

Transparency International Ukraine notedthat the "disappointing" conclusions of the Accounting Chamber on the results of the audit of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency should become the basis for reforming this body.

Commenting on the Accounting Chamber's report, Anastasia Radina, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's anti-corruption committee, said that the management of seized assets remains one of the biggest problems of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. According to her, during the full-scale war, the state could have lost at least UAH 850 million in income from property management.