The Verkhovna Rada unblocked the law on reforming the ARMA

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not support the resolution that blocked the signing of the law on the reform of the Assets Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) for a month.

This was reported by the head of ARMA Olena Duma.

She recalled that on June 18, the Verkhovna Rada supported the ARMA reform in the second reading, which strengthens the Agencyʼs capacity, paves the way for the management of corporate rights of Russia and Belarus, and provides for the possibility of transferring seized assets for the needs of the Ukrainian military.

"But after that, a separate political force blocked the signing of the law — for almost a month. It blocked the possibility of helping the military and managing the assets of the Russian Federation. Today, this page is closed. Parliament did not support the blocking resolution," the Duma noted.

Reforming ARMA

The draft law on reforming ARMA aims to ensure effective, transparent and corruption-free management of seized assets and balance the interests of the state and owners within the framework of criminal proceedings. Here are the main provisions of the document:

• seized assets remain with the owners, unless this hinders the investigation;
• ARMA will manage valuable assets only when it is economically feasible to do so;
• property that quickly loses value will be allowed to be sold quickly;
• managers will be elected automatically — through a system that minimizes the influence of the human factor;
• measures are provided to prevent abuse, for example, artificially inflating costs;
• control over the activities of managers will be strengthened;
• for financial stability, ARMA will create a separate fund with clearly defined sources of funding;
• The position of ARMA Chairman will be held by a candidate selected through an open and transparent competition, with the participation of an independent external commission.

The draft law also provides for changes to the legislation regulating the work of ARMA and enforcement agencies. In particular, it concerns increasing the qualification requirements for the agencyʼs management, clearer criteria for dishonesty, and prohibitions on holding positions.

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