Billions lost due to ARMA could be replaced by USAID funds – MP Honcharenko

The state is losing billions of hryvnias due to corruption schemes, in particular due to the ineffective operation of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. According to the Accounting Chamber, this body not only ineffectively manages seized assets, but also facilitates illegal transactions with state property. This was stated by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, reports UNN. 

According to him, the ARMA, which is supposed to work for the benefit of the state, is actually causing huge losses and helping individuals. He reminded that the audit of the Accounting Chamber revealed numerous violations in the management of seized assets.

“One of the most egregious cases is Ukrnaftoburinnya. ARMA transferred the corporate rights of the company to Ukrnafta without evaluation and tender on falsified grounds. Dividends that were supposed to be paid to shareholders were illegally paid. The problem is that neither ARMA nor Ukrnafta are shareholders and had no right to dispose of this money,” Goncharenko said.

The MP emphasized that the state has already lost billions of hryvnias due to the agency’s inaction and questionable decisions.

“And what do we have now? 0.5 billion cubic meters of gas have simply not been produced. More than UAH 2.5 billion in taxes have not been paid to the budget. Foreign investors have lost control over their assets,” he emphasized.

Goncharenko emphasized that instead of looking for internal reserves to cover the financing of some USAID programs, the government should stop spending billions on the work of certain state structures.

“So when we are told that ‘we need to look for internal reserves,’ we should ask why, instead of filling the budget, it continues to be robbed,” Goncharenko summarizes.

Recall

Recently, 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.

Transparency International Ukraine notedthat the “disappointing” conclusions of the Accounting Chamber on the results of the audit of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency should become the basis for reforming this body.

Commenting on the Accounting Chamber’s report, Anastasia Radina, the head of the Verkhovna Rada’s anti-corruption committee, said that the management of seized assets remains one of the biggest problems for the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. According to her, during the full-scale war, the state could have lost at least UAH 850 million in income from property management.