Duma calls the reform a “threat,” while experts call it a necessity: what is happening with the changes in ARMA

While Ukraine is trying to reform the anti-corruption infrastructure, the head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, Olena Duma, is waging a desperate struggle to preserve the old system. She calls bill No. 12374-d, which is to reform the management system of seized property, a "threat to the anti-corruption system", and her work a "real breakthrough". But this breakthrough probably hides a banal fear of losing influence, and therefore - old schemes and position, writes UNN.

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Anti-corruption experts have been actively stating for a long time that ARMA needs reform. Transparency International Ukraine directly indicated that the resistance of the head of ARMA, Olena Duma, is nothing more than a reluctance to get rid of levers of influence. 

In general, it seems that the real reason for ARMA's resistance to the new draft law 12374-d was the unwillingness to introduce and implement effective and clear asset management mechanisms, as well as additional transparency and control mechanisms. At the same time, the Agency's management began to articulate theses about the "political coloring" of the ARMA reform, which is generally strange, because draft law No. 12374-d solves real problems that were pointed out by the Agency itself, the Accounting Chamber, other institutions and expert organizations, and international partners 

The head of the anti-corruption committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Anastasia Radina, also openly says that Olena Duma and her colleagues are "deliberately spreading false information" that draft law No. 12374-d on the reform of ARMA does not meet EU requirements. 

The only real reason for this behavior is the desire to preserve the existing ineffective system 

Criticism from public organizations and MPs is voiced not only in view of internal management failures. Delaying the reform of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency may be much more serious - up to undermining trust from international partners. This was emphasized by MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn. He noted that blocking the adoption of the bill is not just a political struggle, but a threat to fulfilling obligations to the EU. Ukraine Facility, a financial assistance program, directly depends on reforms. 

And full personal responsibility for blocking the adoption of the law lies with the current ARMA management, which clearly understands that it will not pass new transparent competitive procedures 

One thing remains obvious: the ARMA reform is a pressing demand of the time, international partners and Ukrainian society. However, for the agency's management, which has been working in conditions of secrecy and selectivity for years, it turned out to be a direct threat. That is why Olena Duma is not just resisting, but trying to discredit the very idea of change. But the longer this opaque asset management model is maintained, the greater the risks to the economy, business, and investor confidence. And many experts are already stating that before reforming the system, it should be freed from those who deliberately тормозять it.