There is a uniform, but there is no uniform. Why does ARMA need a “service” uniform if it does not officially exist?
Kyiv • UNN
ARMA employees wear uniforms with logos that have not been officially approved and are not funded from the budget. Lawyers and experts point out that the actions of the agency's management do not correspond to its real problems.
The head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, Olena Duma, continues to create a picture of effective work instead of solving real problems in the work of the body under her control. This time, another strange detail attracted attention - the uniforms of ARMA employees, which officially... do not exist, UNN writes.
Details
On Olena Duma's and ARMA's social media accounts, employees of the agency are consistently seen wearing the same uniform with company logos and inscriptions that clearly indicate their affiliation with the agency.
This was brought to the attention of Volodymyr Bohatyr, a lawyer, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine. In response to his request, ARMA informed him that the agency does not officially have approved samples of uniforms for employees, and its purchase and production are not provided for in the budget.
There are no established samples of uniforms for ARMA employees, rules for wearing them, standards for providing such uniforms and terms of wearing them. In the period from 2017 to 2025, the budget program "Leadership and Management in the Field of Finding and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes" does not include expenditures for the purchase and manufacture of uniforms for ARMA employees
Instead, since its inception, ARMA has had a dress code that is in line with the official business style.
Bohatyr in his comment to UNN noted that government agencies introduce uniforms for clear identification of employees and discipline. But the ARMA is not a law enforcement agency, so the meaning of uniforms for its employees is purely decorative.
Officially, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency does not have a uniform, but for some reason the photos on the website do. The style of employees' daily clothing should give them credibility and indicate competence, but in practice, corruption scandals and criminal cases, including against the agency's leadership, have been reported
The appearance of the agency's employees is probably another element of Elena Duma's PR. It creates a picture of a stable and efficient agency that supposedly works in accordance with all standards. But, as practice shows, the real situation at ARMA is not so good.
In particular, the auditors of the Accounting Chamber found that 80% of the decisions on the transfer of assets to the ARMA remain unfulfilled. This means that most of the assets are idle, and the state is losing millions of hryvnias.
If the officials had been as careful as they were at the beginning of their work to define the rules for performing their main functions, many problems in their work could have been avoided. Instead, the Agency is still trying to get things going, complaining about its lack of independence, weak institutional capacity, and imperfect legislation. Nevertheless, the rules of the dress code are observed. Ties are tied, blouses are ironed, shoes are shined. What about the management of seized assets? Well, this is probably in the next ARMA recommendations. The main thing is to look competent, right?
And the main question remains: if no budget funds were allocated for the uniforms, then at whose expense were they made?
Recall
The Accounting Chamber conducted an audit of ARMA for 2022-2023 and the first half of 2024, which revealed significant problems in the management of seized assets. In particular, the auditors emphasized the following problems: imperfect mechanisms for selecting managers and appraisers of confiscated assets; incomplete data on assets in the register; unregulated relations between ARMA and prosecutors and pre-trial investigation bodies.
However, ARMA Head Olena Duma called the audit "an unprecedented step in ensuring maximum transparency." She emphasized the record growth of the agency's revenues, the introduction of new management mechanisms, and the improvement of its performance in 2024. At the same time, the head of the agency avoided commenting on the problems identified during the audit.
Transparency International Ukraine , based on the results of its audit , pointed out the need to reform the ARMA. Anti-corruption experts pointed out that the agency's activities currently raise serious concerns, including from international partners.
Earlier, Transparency International Ukraine criticized the ARMA for not meeting European standards. Anti-corruption experts pointed out that quite often there is "contradictory communication from the agency or its officials, combined with populism, violation of the presumption of innocence and lack of understanding of the competence of state bodies.
