Cooperation within international and regional organizations

According to Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes”, the main functions of ARMA include, among other things, cooperation with the authorities of foreign states, whose competence is related to finding, tracing and management of assets, as well as other competent authorities of foreign states, relevant international organizations.

Paragraph 2 of Part One of Article 16 of the Law stipulates that ARMA cooperates internationally with relevant authorities of foreign states by exchange of experience and information on issues related to finding, tracing and management of assets.

Paragraph 3 of Part One of Article 16 of the Law stipulates that ARMA cooperates with international, intergovernmental organizations, networks whose activities are aimed at providing international cooperation in the field of finding, tracing and management of assets, including the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-agency Network (CARIN), and represents Ukraine in this organization.

Thus, ARMA is empowered by the legislation of Ukraine to cooperate with international, intergovernmental organizations, networks whose activities are aimed at ensuring international cooperation in the field of finding, tracing and management of assets, as well as with similar agencies all over the world.

ARMA operates on international platforms to inform international partners of Ukraine’s achievements in finding and tracing of criminal assets, management of seized and confiscated property, and the peculiarities of the functioning of the national asset recovery system as part of the anti-corruption system.

Within the framework of ARMA's international activities, measures are being taken to analyze the gaps in international acts, current challenges and trends in the tracing of illicit assets and management of seized property, research, analytical scientific work of international institutions and experts, comments and proposals that are raised by foreign partners on international platforms. Based on the results of such analysis, strategic documents are being developed in the field of tracing of illicit assets and management of seized property, recovery of illicit assets from foreign jurisdictions to Ukraine.

Cooperation within the UN

Within the framework of cooperation in the UN, ARMA actively participates in meetings of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on asset recovery, the working group on the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption, and the intergovernmental meeting of experts on international cooperation.

Pursuant to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine from 13 September 2002 No 1371 “On the procedure for participation of central executive authorities in the activities of international organizations, the member of which is Ukraine”, ARMA is responsible for cooperation with the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (hereinafter - the Conference). The representatives of ARMA participated in the 7th session of the Conference (6-10 November 2017, Vienna, Republic of Austria) and in the 8th session of the Conference (16 - 20 December 2019, m. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Emirates) as members of the Ukrainian the delegation.

In 2017, within the 7th session of the Conference, Ukraine announced the implementation of paragraph 3 Article 31 of the UN Convention against Corruption (measures to manage frozen, seized or confiscated property) through the establishment of ARMA and informed the participants of the first achievements of Ukraine in this area.

And by 2019, during the 8th session of the Conference, ARMA proposed for the consideration of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (hereinafter - the Convention) its own draft Resolution of the Conference "Strengthening of international cooperation on asset recovery and the administration of frozen, seized and confiscated assets".

Based on the results of 6 rounds of consultations with the experts of the States Parties to the Convention and the fruitful work of the representatives of ARMA, on the last day of the 8th session of the Conference, the Resolution of ARMA was adopted by consensus.

The Resolution contains a number of strategic recommendations for improving the tracing of illicit assets, as well as for the management of seized assets.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) brings together 36 Member States and provides guidance to the governments of those countries on the study, development and improvement of socio-economic policies. The recommendations include positive experiences to find solutions to common problems, coordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD actively cooperates with Ukraine through specialized programs, international events and more.

Since 2003, Ukraine has been a member of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The said Action Plan is an international agreement, the main principles of which are the development of an effective and transparent system of public service, strengthening the fight against bribery and ensuring integrity in business, supporting the active participation of the public in reforms.

During the regular 20th monitoring meeting of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Network OECD on March 20-22, 2019, OECD experts noted the steady progress in the institutional and functional development of ARMA, as noted in the Report approved by the Anti-Corruption Network OECD.

Implementation of the best international practices, accumulated by the OECD in the area of battling corruption, is an important indicator of Ukraine’s assessment as a reliable partner.