Audit findings. Without immediate reforms in ARMA, the state will continue to suffer losses – lawyer

The findings of the Accounting Chamber audit revealed serious shortcomings in the work of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. Without immediate reforms in ARMA, the situation will only worsen, and the state will suffer significant losses. This opinion was expressed by Honored Lawyer of Ukraine Volodymyr Bohatyr in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

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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.

Volodymyr Bogatyr believes that the audit results show that over the eight years of its operation, the agency has failed to create an effective system for managing seized assets.

“Only 1% of the more than 100,000 court orders to seize property resulted in the transfer of assets into management. As a result, assets worth UAH 39.4 billion ($940 million) remain unmanaged, which indicates significant financial losses for the state,” he said.

According to the lawyer, incomplete data in the Unified State Register of Assets distort the real value of the transferred property, creating additional risks of corruption.

“The popular argument of ‘imperfect legislation’ is often used as an excuse. While legislative changes are indeed needed, their absence should not serve as an excuse to ignore the responsibility of officials… Without immediate reforms, including strengthening internal governance, ensuring transparency and regulating the legal framework, the state will continue to suffer significant losses. The main question remains: who will be responsible for these systemic failures?” – Mr. Bogatyr emphasized.

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Transparency International Ukraine also pointed out the need to reform the ARMA based on the results of the audit. 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.

The Asset Recovery and Management Agency decided not to comment on Transparency International Ukraine’s remarks about “contradictory communication” on the part of the agency’s officials, and instead spoke about their “achievements” in drafting laws.