The government is relaunching the competition for the position of head of ARMA
Kyiv • UNN
Applications to participate in the new competition will be accepted from October 26 to November 26, 2026. The previous selection process ended without a winner.
The Cabinet of Ministers announced a competition for the position of head of the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA). Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi reported this, UNN reports.
Details
"We are announcing an open and transparent competition for the position of head of the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes. The Agency needs a leader trusted by both society and its partners. I invite everyone with management experience, an impeccable reputation and a desire to be useful to their country to participate," Koretskyi wrote.
Background
In June 2025, on Wednesday, 18 June, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted in full for Draft Law No. 12374-d, which provides for reform of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
Under the adopted law, the head of ARMA may be:
- a citizen of Ukraine who has a higher legal or economic education at a level no lower than specialist (master’s);
- at least five years of professional experience in the relevant specialty;
- at least three years of experience in managerial positions in state authorities, enterprises, institutions or organizations, regardless of their form of ownership;
- fluent in the state language and proficient in a foreign language that is one of the official languages of the Council of Europe;
- of proven integrity and competent;
- capable, based on their professional and moral qualities and educational and professional level, of performing the relevant official duties.
On 25 September last year, the Cabinet of Ministers formed the Selection Commission that will choose the new head of the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets (ARMA).
Ukrainian and international experts joined the commission. They include:
- Wolf-Tilmann Baumert - a German prosecutor and specialist in investigating economic crimes;
- Serhii But - chairman of the board of JSC "Prozorro.Sale";
- Anzhelika Krusian - academic secretary of the Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
- Valentyna Lukianets-Shakhova - a researcher at the National Academy of Internal Affairs;
- Kateryna Ryzhenko - a representative of Transparency International Ukraine, who has monitored ARMA’s activities and promoted legislative changes for many years;
- Rita Simoes - a Portuguese prosecutor and expert at the Basel Institute on Governance in the areas of financial crime and asset recovery.
On 9 December 2025, the announcement was made regarding the submission of documents for the position of head of ARMA; they had to be submitted by 19 January. At that time, 20 candidates applied for the position of head of ARMA.
However, on 19 January this year, the commission selecting the head of ARMA decided to extend the deadline for submitting documents by three weeks for everyone wishing to participate in the competition. The reason was the small number of candidates.
We have already received a number of document packages from candidates, and we would like to discuss the next steps. At least 13 candidates applied. Unfortunately, this is not the number that we, as a commission, would like to see in order to ensure, in our view, the most competitive and professional selection possible. Therefore, at this meeting I would propose discussing whether we, as a commission, are ready to extend the deadline for submitting documents in order to provide more opportunities for everyone interested
The first stage of the competition – testing on knowledge of legislation – took place on 11 March. Fourteen of the 15 applicants passed it. The second stage of the competition - general aptitude testing - took place on 24 March. Only one candidate - Viktor Dubovyk - passed it.
On 16 April, the Selection Commission interviewed Dubovyk at an official meeting.
As a result, Dubovyk received 4 votes from members of the Selection Commission; however, the commission stated that "the candidate cannot be included by the Selection Commission in the proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers for appointment to the position of Head of the National Agency."
The Commission referred to the law under which a decision is considered adopted if it is supported by at least four members of the selection commission, including at least two members of the selection commission appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers based on proposals from development partners.
Dubovyk received only one vote from an international member. It should be noted that Kateryna Ryzhenko and Rita Simoes opposed his candidacy.
They explained their position by citing doubts about the origin of some of Dubovyk’s assets and the candidate’s "superficial answers."
On June 10, the selection commission decided to conduct a repeat selection after all candidates had been eliminated in the previous one.
"I propose putting the following motion to a vote: to conduct a repeat competitive selection for the position of Head of ARMA,"
The relevant decision was supported by all members of the selection commission.
"The Commission understands that we must make every effort to ensure that the next, repeat competition proceeds with candidates from among whom we can propose one or several candidates for appointment,"
On October 19, the selection commission for the position of Head of ARMA held a meeting at which it approved updated procedural documents and officially announced the start of a new competition to select the Head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
Documents may be submitted from October 26 to November 26, 2026 (inclusive).
The selection commission also allowed applicants to submit a certificate of proficiency in the state language throughout the selection process, but no later than three days before the interview.
We would like to remind you
Yaroslava Maksymenko has been appointed acting Head of the National Agency for Asset Recovery and Management.