Cooperation within international and regional organizations
In accordance with Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On the National Agency of Ukraine for the іdentification, search and management of assets obtained from corruption and other crimes", ARMA's main functions include, among other things, cooperation with the bodies of foreign countries, whose competence includes issues related to the identification, asset recovery and management, other competent bodies of foreign states, relevant international organizations.
Point 2 of the first part of Article 16 of the Law specifies that ARMA carries out international cooperation with the relevant bodies of foreign countries in terms of exchanging experience and information on issues related to the identification, search and management of assets.
Paragraph 3 of the first part of Article 16 of the Law establishes that ARMA ensures cooperation with international, intergovernmental organizations, networks whose activities are aimed at ensuring international cooperation in the field of identification, search and management of assets, including with the Camden Interagency Asset Recovery Network (CARIN ), and represents Ukraine in this organization.
ARMA, at the level of Ukrainian legislation, is authorized to ensure cooperation with international, intergovernmental organizations, networks whose activities are aimed at ensuring international cooperation in the field of identification, search and management of assets, as well as with similar agencies of the countries of the world.
ARMA uses international platforms to inform international partners about Ukraine's achievements in the field of detection and search of criminal assets, management of seized and confiscated property, features of the functioning of the national asset recovery system as a component of the anti-corruption system.
As part of the international activities of ARMA, activities are carried to analyze gaps in international acts, modern challenges and trends in the field of searching for criminal assets and management of seized property, research, analytical scientific works of international institutions and experts, comments and proposals raised by foreign partners on international platforms, and based on the results of such analysis, strategic documents are being developed in the field of searching for criminal assets and managing seized property, returning criminal assets from foreign jurisdictions to Ukraine.
Cooperation within the UN
Within the framework of cooperation with the UN, ARMA takes an active part in the meetings of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on asset recovery, the working group on reviewing the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption, and the intergovernmental meeting of experts on international cooperation.
Resolution No. 1371 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 13, 2002 "On the procedure for the participation of central executive bodies in the activities of international organizations of which Ukraine is a member", according to which ARMA is co-responsible for cooperation with the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption ( hereinafter - Conference), ARMA representatives participated as part of Ukrainian delegations in the 7th session of the Conference (November 6-10, 2017, Vienna, Republic of Austria) and the 8th session of the Conference (December 16-20, 2019, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates).
In 2017, as part of the participation in the 7th session of the Conference, it was announced that Ukraine would fulfill Article 31, Clause 3 of the UN Convention against Corruption (measures related to the management of frozen, seized or confiscated property) through the creation of ARMA, and the participants of the event were informed about the first achievements of Ukraine in this area.
Already in 2019, during the 8th session of the Conference, ARMA proposed its own draft resolution of the Conference "Strengthening international cooperation in the field of asset recovery and management of frozen, seized and confiscated assets" for consideration by the member states of the UN Convention against Corruption (hereinafter - the Convention).
Based on the results of 6 rounds of consultations with experts of the Convention's member states and the fruitful work of ARMA representatives, on the last day of the 8th session of the Conference, the ARMA Resolution developed by consensus was adopted.
The resolution contains a number of strategic recommendations on improving the mechanisms for searching for illegal assets, as well as on the management of seized property.
Organization of economic cooperation and development
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) unites 36 member countries and provides the governments of these countries with recommendations for the study, development and improvement of social and economic policies. The recommendations include positive experience, designed to find ways to solve common problems, to coordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD actively cooperates with Ukraine within the framework of specialized programs, international events, etc.
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 of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The specified Action Plan is an international agreement, the main principles of which are the development of an effective and transparent public service system, strengthening the fight against bribery and ensuring integrity in business, supporting active public participation in reforms.
During the regular 20th monitoring meeting of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the OECD Anti-Corruption Network on March 20-22, 2019, OECD experts noted stable progress in the institutional and functional development of ARMA, which was noted in the Report approved on the basis of the recommendations of the Anti-Corruption Network OECD network.
The implementation of advanced international practices accumulated by the OECD in the field of anti-corruption is an important indicator of the assessment of Ukraine as a reliable partner.
ARMA has repeatedly participated in the work of the Istanbul Action Plan to combat corruption of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The specified Action Plan is an international agreement, the main principles of which are the development of an effective and transparent public service system, strengthening the fight against bribery and ensuring integrity in business, supporting active public participation in reforms.
As part of Ukraine's participation in the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the National Agency ensures the implementation of recommendations on improving state policy, in particular, in the field of anti-corruption.
On September 29, 2020, the OECD published the report "The fight against corruption in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, anti-corruption reforms in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, progress and challenges in 2016-2019" on its website, which noted the progress of ARMA based on the results of the fourth round of monitoring the Istanbul Plan of actions against corruption, which covered nine countries of the region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The implementation of advanced international practices accumulated by the OECD in the field of anti-corruption is an important indicator of the assessment of Ukraine as a reliable partner.