President Volodymyr Zelensky signed bill No. 12374-d, which provides for the reform of the Assets Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).
He reported this on Telegram.
This law will open up access for Ukraine to €600 million in assistance under the Ukraine Facility program.
The draft law 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 the ARMA chairman will be held by a candidate selected through an open and transparent competition with the participation of an independent external commission.
It also provides for changes in 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.
Competitions for positions in ARMA should be open, with the participation of the public and international experts. It is also proposed to improve working conditions for the ARMA employees to guarantee them adequate material support.
Another key change is the increase in the threshold for asset value for transfer to ARMA from 200 to 500 subsistence minimums. The terms for transferring assets to management must be clear.
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