"May become a link in a corruption story": expert warns about the consequences of ARMA's decision to transfer "Gulliver" to "Alakor City" company

This is the second competition for the selection of a manager for the capital’s Gulliver shopping mall, and it is entering its final stage. For the second time, the company “Alakor City” with a Russian owner is among the candidates. If this company wins, experts do not rule out that Olena Duma, the head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, may bear personal responsibility, writes UNN.

DetailsA total of three companies participated in the second competition. The contender who took first place, LLC “BC MILLENNIUM”, has already withdrawn from the race. Two contenders remain —  PE “LIMEX EXPRESS KYIV” and LLC “Alakor City”. 

“Alakor City” is participating in the competition for the selection of a manager for the Gulliver shopping mall for the second time. During the first competition, it was revealed that the owner of this company, businessman Dmytro Adamovsky, has Canadian and Russian citizenship. This information was confirmed by Ukrainian intelligence agencies.

Political scientist Dmytro Hromakov believes that transferring an asset to a company with a Russian trace is not only about political responsibility but also about the risk for ARMA leaders to become the first link in a large corruption story.

“In essence, she (the head of ARMA – ed.) will have to bear some responsibility. This issue has several aspects. The political one is that a Russian citizen receives some property in Ukraine for management. But there is also the formation of such a corrupt component, and not only for ARMA… And the question for Olena (Duma – ed.) is to decide for herself whether it makes sense to give preference to this contender. After all, the point is that she will become the first link in the chain of this corruption story,” he noted in an exclusive comment to UNN.

In his opinion, if such a decision is made, law enforcement agencies should deal with the issue.

“This is the competence of both the prosecutor’s office and the Security Service,” Hromakov emphasized.

It should be noted that, according to Ukrainian legislation, companies with citizens of the aggressor state among their beneficiaries are not allowed to participate in public tenders. Despite this, “Alakor City” is participating in the competition for the management of the Gulliver shopping mall for the second time, appealing to the owner’s Canadian passport — without providing any document about the termination of Russian citizenship.

The attempt to circumvent a direct norm of the law and “cover up” a Russian passport with a Canadian one is not a technical detail, but a sign of a conscious violation. Why “Alakor City” is doing this is clear. But if ARMA, led by Olena Duma, goes this way, it will mean not an administrative error, but a conscious abuse of power. In such a case, the question of political and criminal responsibility is only a matter of time.

RecallThe Asset Recovery and Management Agency has repeatedly been at the center of scandals involving seized property. Recently, the head of the Verkhovna Rada’s anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, reported that the head of ARMA had concluded the third asset management agreement for 2025 – the seized asset is transferred to the management of individuals allegedly connected with the Russian owner. The head of the anti-corruption committee called the situation a “two-step move,” as Olena Duma initially stated that she would not allow Russian owners to manage assets, and then “calmly chose a company as manager… which the investigation considers connected with the same owners.”