Excellent assessment for the head of the ARMA Duma: talent or PR

The Head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, Olena Duma, received “excellent” based on the results of the performance evaluation in 2024. This means that she will not only retain her position, but will also receive a bonus for her “outstanding achievements.” However, numerous scandals around the agency call into question the transparency and effectiveness of its leadership, UNN writes.

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Under Olena Duma's leadership, ARMA has repeatedly been at the center of high-profile scandals that raise questions about the agency's transparency and effectiveness. 

For example, the agency has recently taken over the “disability marathon” from prosecutors - the police have started checking individual ARMA employees for allegedly fake documents on disability. Experts emphasized that if the allegations are confirmed, this should not only be grounds for resignation, but also an impetus for a large-scale review of the agency's work .

In addition, the work of the ARMA under the leadership of Olena Duma is constantly criticized by anti-corruption organizations. In particular, Transparency International Ukraine emphasized that the agency is in need of significant reform and practically does not meet the European standards by which it was created . Anti-corruption activists pointed out that quite often there is “contradictory communication from the ARMA or its officials, combined with populism, violation of the presumption of innocence and lack of understanding of the competence of state bodies”.

This is not the only criticism of the ARMA due to populism. Earlier, experts emphasizedthat the agency focuses more on politically high-profile cases related to oligarchs than on the effective preservation and management of transferred assets. 

In addition, experts have repeatedly questioned the political independence of the ARMA under the leadership of Olena Duma. The agency's leadership has even had to defend itself for possible ties to odious figures such as Oleh Kulinich, who is accused of treason, and Valeriy Pysarenko, who is a close associate of Andriy Portnov, former deputy head of Viktor Yanukovych's administration. 

Another important aspect is the complete lack of public control over the ARMA's actions. For three months now, the agency has been operating without a public council, which dissolved itself due to systematic violations of the law by the ARMA leadership regarding public involvement in its activities. This situation, according to former members of the public council, is beneficial to the head of the agency, Olena Duma, because the lack of control allows her to avoid public consideration of controversial issues.

Instead of responding to numerous comments, Olena Duma focuses on creating a positive image on social media. However, sometimes, in an attempt to show her effectiveness, she “takes credit for other people's achievements”. This was the case, for example, with the detention of Ivan Rudyi , the head of CRAIL - Olena Duma started commenting on the detention before law enforcement officially reported it, thus presenting their work as secondary.

Getting an “A” grade when experts, NGOs, and journalists are constantly criticizing you is truly a talent. But does it indicate real achievements or just the ability to shape a narrative that is favorable to yourself?