The Cabinet of Ministers introduced a draft law on reforming ARMA

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine submitted draft law No. 12374 to the Verkhovna Rada. The document provides for the reform of the principles of work and the procedure for selecting the leadership of the National Agency for Identification, Search and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA).
The Deputy Prime Minister-Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna notes that the draft law was developed as part of the implementation of the Ukraine Facility Plan, the implementation of which is a condition for receiving tranches from the EU. In particular, the project envisages a transparent merit-based selection procedure for the head of ARMA, with a mandatory check of integrity and professionalism.
It is also proposed to introduce an independent system of external evaluation of the agency’s performance, and to make the process of management and sale of seized assets as transparent as possible. Special attention in the project is paid to the correction of problems related to the changes to the legislation adopted in 2019.
According to Law No. 117-IX, the grounds for early termination of the powers of the head of ARMA included the provision on the termination of public service, which creates risks for the agency’s independence. These changes contradict the concept of ARMA as an autonomous body of the anti-corruption system, allowing the dismissal of its head for political reasons.
To ensure ARMA’s independence, the government proposes to apply to it principles similar to those in the NABU and corruption prevention laws. In addition, it is proposed to introduce a similar audit model for ARMA, which is used for NABU. This should guarantee the effectiveness of the agency’s work and trust in its activities.