Management failure: Head of ARMA Duma sends his deputy for European integration to inspect assets in the regions

The head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, Olena Duma, reported another "success" - ARMA continues to inspect the assets of former traitor MP Viktor Medvedchuk in Lviv. However, it is very strange that the assets in the regions are being inspected personally by the Deputy Head for European Integration. This calls into question not only the efficiency of the agency's use of resources, but also the competence of Olena Duma as a leader, UNN writes.

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The head of the ARMA reported in her tg channel that the agency continues to review Medvedchuk's "high-profile assets". 

"The inspected assets include Betonbud and Kerambud factories and another seized asset, the Tourist Hotel," she said.

The Deputy Head of the ARMA for European Integration Grigol Katamadze took responsibility for coordinating the review.

However, it is questionable why the Deputy Head for European Integration, who, according to the logic of the position, should be in charge of international cooperation, is forced to travel to the regions and perform work that usually falls within the competence of local representatives or specialized specialists. ARMA has more than 200 employees and has regional offices, including the Western Interregional Office, which was also interviewed for this review. However, the agency sent one of its managers to perform this task.

This is not the first signal of management problems in ARMA. Since Olena Duma's appointment as the head of the agency, there have been discussions from time to time about her lack of experience. She even had to justify this and argued her expertise by saying that she graduated from school with a gold medal and has "a lot of experience".

In addition, Olena Duma's personnel decisions caused concern among the expert community. In particular, Oleh Shram, former advisor to the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, drew attention to the existence of the position of Deputy Director for European Integration in the ARMA, which, in his opinion, is strange for an anti-corruption body established in accordance with European standards.

The lack of effective management is especially noticeable against the backdrop of high-profile cases involving the assets of high-profile traitors and oligarchs. Instead of delegating responsibilities to specialized experts, the Duma sends high-ranking officials to inspect assets. This casts doubt on the agency's ability to perform its key functions of finding and managing seized assets, especially in a time of war when every hryvnia and every asset matters to the state.

Therefore, the question arises - is Olena Duma able to ensure an adequate level of management when even the review of assets, a task that can be delegated, is performed by the Deputy Head and is this an indicator of deeper problems in ARMA?

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In general, statements about the non-transparent and ineffective work of the ARMA and its head, Olena Duma, have been made repeatedly. A petition calling for the dismissal of Olena Duma from her post due to her alleged ties to pro-Russian politicians and ineffective management of seized assetshas even appeared on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

In addition, there are doubts about the political independence of the ARMA leadership. In particular, it has recently become known about possible backroom deals taking place in the ARMA under the leadership of Olena Duma. According to informed sources of UNN, a close associate of the former deputy head of the Presidential Administration of Viktor Yanukovych, Andriy Portnov, lawyer and former MP Valeriy Pysarenko, regularly visits the ARMA headquarters in Kyiv to meet personally with Olena Duma. The purpose of his visits is allegedly to discuss the transfer of large seized assets in favor of certain influential people, including Yulia Tymoshenko. Among these assets was, for example, the capital's Gulliver shopping center.

Immediately after the publication of this material, the ARMA was quick to disassociate itself from these visits. They stated that there were no visitors with the name Valeriy Pysarenko in the log, and that Olena Duma was "not familiar" with the former MP at all.

However, they forgot to mention that their main office can be entered through four more "back" entrances and climbed through a window and two fire escapes, which have no logs of visits and security.