Today, on June 28, the commission for the selection of the ARMA head has decided on the winner of the competition. It is Olena Duma, former ex-deputy head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration.
6 members of the commission voted for this decision — Olena Yara, Ivan Lishchyna, Dmytro Ostapenko, Serhii Vernydubov, Yurii Kiskin, and Mykhailo Ivanenko. Yurii Butusov and Valts Kalniņš did not vote for the candidate.
Transparency International Ukraine is convinced that this choice poses a significant danger to the further work of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency and the anti-corruption ecosystem as a whole. We urge the Cabinet of Ministers not to appoint her.
Olena Duma has more than 22 years of experience in state bodies, and during this time, she was very active in anti-corruption and trade union organizations, organized and participated in various rallies.
Lack of necessary professional experience. The Head of the ARMA organizes and controls the work of the Agency, bears personal responsibility for the transparency of the activities of the institution and the results of its work. This requires a thorough understanding of the powers of the ARMA, as well as experience related to criminal justice
Olena Duma’s experience is not associated with the work in the field related to criminal justice, nor is it related to the management or recovery of assets. This raises doubts about how competently she will be able to control the work of ARMA employees and represent the interests of the Agency as far as other bodies are concerned.
Close political ties. In 2019, Duma was directly involved in campaigning for one of the candidates for president of Ukraine and discrediting another candidate for this position. This indicates the political bias of the winner of the competition for the Head of the ARMA, which could potentially affect her work in this position.
Moreover, public activists found ties of Olena Duma with the ex-head of the SSU Valentyn Nalyvaichenko. At one time, Anna Kovalenko was the head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration; in addition, she is the co-founder of the NGO “Anti-Corruption Movement of V. Nalyvaichenko.” Olena Duma worked as her deputy.
Possible business contacts with traitors and suspects in cooperation with russia. Among the public community, there are assumptions about the contacts of Olena Duma with the ex-head of the Crimean SSU department, suspected of treason, Oleh Kulinich. In particular, it is said that Duma promoted the interests of a potential traitor Kulinich in Chernihiv Oblast, although no criminal proceedings regarding her involvement have been registered so far.
But the most serious sign indicating the bias of the future head of the Agency is her participation in a joint press conference with Sam Kislin in 2019, a financial donor of Rudolph Giuliani. That is, 4 years ago, the future head of the ARMA was directly involved in attempts to discredit her country and the current US president, who, for her part, supports our country in every possible way both in confronting russian aggression and in anti-corruption progress.
Screenshot from the press conference video
All these facts indicate that the appointment of Olena Duma as the head of the ARMA carries huge reputational risks for the country and for the independent and effective activities of the anti-corruption ecosystem and law enforcement agencies. Therefore, Transparency International Ukraine calls on members of the Cabinet of Ministers not to vote for the appointment of the winner in the competition to this crucial position.
Transparency International Ukraine is convinced that this choice poses a significant danger to the further work of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency and the anti-corruption ecosystem as a whole. We urge the Cabinet of Ministers not to appoint her.
