Covering up or turning a blind eye? ARMA Head Duma ignores the scandal with his deputy and “Ukrbud”
Kyiv • UNN
ARMA's leadership is not reacting to the scandal regarding the sale of “Ukrbud” to a firm with Georgian-Russian ties, raising suspicions of a cover-up and evasion of responsibility.
The scandal surrounding the sale of the state company "Ukrbud" to a firm with Georgian-Russian ties has not subsided for the second week. However, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, whose top official is directly involved in this story, pretends that nothing happened, writes UNN.
Details
According to information from open sources, the Deputy Head of ARMA, Grigol Katamadze, could have helped the company "Petro Oil & Chemicals", headed by his son Irakli Katamadze, to become the winner of the Ukrbud tender. And the company itself leads to offshore companies and to the oligarch David Bezhuashvili, who is associated with the legalization of Russian assets in Georgia.
Grigol Katamadze's connections with the owners of "Petro Oil & Chemicals" raise suspicions of a possible conflict of interest, abuse of office and non-transparent influence on the auction. However, despite the obvious public outcry, there has been no reaction from the management of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency so far.
The head of the agency, Olena Duma, has not yet reacted to the scandal, to which her deputy is probably involved. It seems that instead of assessing his actions and protecting the reputation of the institution, she simply turned a blind eye to everything.
According to the lawyer, former head of the Public Council at ARMA, Igor Chobitko, such behavior is already typical for the current leadership of the agency.
"In the situation regarding the failure to comment on related parties participating in the tender, this is already a stable practice of ARMA under the leadership of Duma. In fact, all information relating to her personally or her team is simply hidden and not provided. Although, indeed, this information (about Katamadze's alleged involvement - ed.) is of public interest and should be provided immediately," the expert noted.
But if the agency does not react to such public scandals, then the question arises: is this not evidence of involvement? Is the head of ARMA herself not trying to cover up the activities of her deputy, instead of immediately initiating an internal investigation and putting an end to it?
Igor Chobitko stressed that an internal audit is definitely needed.
"But the decision to start an internal investigation is made by the head, especially since it concerns her deputy, since she became aware of the information from sources that are not closed. But will it be, or will it not? I think that even if it is, we will not know about the progress of this investigation and its result," he believes.
ARMA is an agency that operates with seized assets worth billions. Therefore, the public has the right to hear what the head of ARMA, Olena Duma, thinks about the scandal and whether an internal investigation will be conducted. Silence in such cases is not a neutral position, but an avoidance of responsibility.
Reminder
The company "Petro Oil & Chemicals" was the only participant who, at each stage of the auction, offered a price exactly 1,000 hryvnias higher than the next competitor. This raises suspicions that Grigol Katamadze, as not the last person in ARMA, probably had information that could affect the awareness of the participants and the course of the bidding. Especially when you consider that it concerns the interests of his son.