Three weeks without public control: why ARMA's activities raise more and more questions
Kyiv • UNN
Following the self-dissolution of the public council, ARMA has been operating without external control for three weeks. Experts are calling for an independent audit to increase transparency and efficiency in the management of seized assets.
After the self-dissolution of the public council, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency has been operating for three weeks without any external control, which increases the risks of non-transparent management of seized property and possible corruption, UNN reports.
Details
Three weeks ago, all members of the ARMA Public Council resigned. At the meeting, they emphasized the lack of transparency in the work of the ARMA and the fact that the agency creates artificial obstacles to the implementation of public control over its activities. They also stated that the ARMA leadership systematically ignores their appeals and does not involve them in the development of regulations, in violation of the law.
Ihor Chobitko, the former chairman of the ARMA Public Council, said in a commentary to UNN that after the self-dissolution of the Public Council, the ARMA was left without external control, and therefore cannot be called transparent.
This situation is worrisome, as experts are constantly talking about the ineffective work of the ARMA and its head, Olena Duma. The website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine even published a petition calling for the dismissal of Olena Duma due to her alleged ties to pro-Russian politicians and ineffective management of seized assets.
In addition, experts pointed out that the political independence of ARMA's work under Olena Duma's leadership is questionable.
In particular, recently it became known about possible backroom agreements taking place in the ARMA under the leadership of Olena Duma. According to UNN's informed sources, a close associate of the former deputy head of the Presidential Administration, 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 you can enter their headquarters through four more "back" entrances and climb through a window and two fire escapes that have no visitor or security logs.
One of the tools that can improve the situation with management of seized assets and identify problems in ARMA's work is an external independent audit.
It is demanded, in particular, by anti-corruption experts. After all, as Pavlo Demchuk, legal advisor to Transparency International Ukraine, stated , a full-fledged external audit has never been conducted at ARMA.
The audit will not only assess the current work of the agency, but also identify systemic problems. This step is important to restore public trust and ensure transparency in the management of seized assets. An independent audit should be a priority for the government to avoid further scandals and strengthen Ukraine's anti-corruption policy.
The lack of public scrutiny increases the risks of ARMA's malpractice, and the delay in the audit only exacerbates this problem.
