The bill by Hetmantsev on the Deposit Guarantee Fund threatens Ukraine’s cooperation with the IMF – political scientist

Ukraine’s cooperation with the International Monetary Fund may be at risk if the parliament passes the draft law on regulating the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals, proposed by the head of the VR Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, Danilo Hetmantsev. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by political scientist Serhiy Shabovta.

Unfortunately, Ukraine is characterized as a state by its ease in making promises and supposedly signing various memorandums in which it will fulfill obligations in one direction or another. And in real practice, it immediately starts to violate them, not adhering to them and so on. Even without trying very hard, let’s say, to explain professionally why this is happening.

He emphasized that cooperation with the IMF has greatly helped Ukraine stabilize local situations and often, when our state needed assistance, it was the International Monetary Fund that came to meet us.

“Yes, these are draconian loans, they are very complicated, but they have saved us. Therefore, honestly speaking, with such an attitude towards the obligations of the Ukrainian side, we may someday find ourselves in a situation where we will simply be refused, being pointed at and told: it cannot be a one-sided game,” – noted Shabovta.

The political scientist emphasized that for the international credit and financial system, one of the basic requirements is adherence to rules and agreements; without this, the system itself would cease to exist.

“That is, it is disgraceful and traditionally shameful, as we are not showing for the first time that we do not adhere to anything and do not fulfill our obligations, but easily take them on ourselves,” – added Shabovta.

Context

The head of the parliamentary tax committee, Danilo Hetmantsev, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the regulation of certain issues of the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals, the National Bank of Ukraine, and joint investment institutions”. After a detailed study of the document, it became clear that the proposed changes contradict the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of citizens’ right to freely own property, as well as the right to judicial appeal and a fair trial. In addition, Hetmantsev’s legislative initiative violates a number of existing laws and creates significant corruption risks. Furthermore, Hetmantsev’s draft law contradicts obligations that Ukraine has taken before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the current funding program.

Reminder

The founder of the law firm “Kasyanenko and Partners” Dmitry Kasyanenko criticized Hetmantsev’s draft law regarding the limitation of time for appealing decisions of the FGWFO in courts to 1 month. According to him, this contradicts the general principles of civil legislation and creates preconditions for abuses by responsible officials. The lawyer emphasized that this does not comply with Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which guarantees everyone the right to judicial protection, and also contradicts the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which requires ensuring reasonable time limits for appealing to the court.

The head of the NGO “Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine” Arsen Marinuskin believes that Hetmantsev’s draft law is lobbyist and is an attempt to create a convenient legal reality for the FGWFO.

“I have already observed a disturbing trend in legislation, where in special laws, authors try to establish a ‘statute of limitations’ where it cannot be by definition. In my opinion, on one hand, this is a legal manipulation to justify the Deposit Guarantee Fund for possible mistakes, and on the other, a basic misunderstanding of legal foundations,” – noted Arsen Marinuskin.