Political expert: Closed competition for the position of the head of the Deposit Guarantee Fund is inappropriate and contrary to IMF requirements

The competition for the position of the Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund should be open, as it is not advisable to hold it in a closed mode now. In addition, the International Monetary Fund requires a transparent appointment procedure. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by political scientist Ihor Reiterovych.

Context

In September, an IMF mission will start working in Ukraine in preparation for the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility program. The expert discussions will focus on Ukraine's implementation of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies. One of the points of the document is to develop a procedure and hold a competition for the head of the DGF in the spring of 2025.

Regarding open tenders for the DGF, etc., the point is that restrictions were introduced due to the legal regime of martial law. Some of these tenders are said to be inappropriate because there are certain security issues during the war. I think we will fix this, as the President's Office has considered this issue and decided to return to open competitions at least in some areas. It is difficult to say how long it will take to do this, but I am convinced that certain steps and appointments will be made. And this will be enough for the IMF to understand that the process has started and, accordingly, they can continue to allocate money

According to him, in addition to an open and transparent competition for the head of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, the IMF also requires Ukraine to fulfill a number of standard conditions. In particular, it is about balancing the state budget, improving financial control and financial monitoring.

The Verkhovna Rada, for its part, has made virtually all the necessary changes to the current legislation, as this issue was raised earlier. Therefore, from a regulatory point of view, there are no special questions to us. I think that we will get this loan without any major problems, unless some extraordinary things happen, related to some corruption or something like that. Since there is a political understanding of the need for this support for Ukraine

Recall

Following the dismissal of Svitlana Rekrut as Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, her deputy, Olga Bilay, is acting as the head. According to media reports, despite the IMF's demands, the Fund's Administrative Board plans to appoint a new head in a closed session. Currently, two main candidates are being considered - Bilay and Pavlo Polarush, head of the National Bank's Department for Work with Troubled Assets, who is considered by journalists to be the main contender for the post. 

According to media reports, Polarush repeatedly traveled abroad after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, journalists reported that in November 2022, he received permission to leave the country from the odious former Deputy Minister of Defense, who is currently a suspect in corruption crimes. The permit was allegedly issued to Polarush to travel abroad in an elite Lexus car to receive humanitarian aid. However, it is not yet known on what grounds Polarush traveled abroad from February to November 2022.

Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Mykola Velychkovych believesthat law enforcement should investigate Polarush's travels abroad. A member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, Hennadiy Kasai , does not rule outthat Polarush may have problems during the special vetting process as a candidate for the position of managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.