The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) held the first constituent meeting of the interagency working group established to ensure coordination of efforts of all government agencies in the implementation of the Asset Recovery Strategy for 2023-2025. The IWG meeting was held online and chaired by YuliaSvyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

“Asset recovery is a strategic step that will help restore justice, replenish the state budget and strengthen Ukraine's economy. After all, the resources that were withdrawn abroad should return and work for the development of our country, for the benefit of citizens. The return of assets and their effective use is a step that will not only strengthen the economic situation but also strengthen national security,” emphasized Yulia Sviridenko.

The meeting was a key step in the implementation of the Strategy approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in August 2023. The participants discussed priorities for the next steps and preliminary results of the Action Plan implementation.

In her report, ARMA Head Olena Duma noted that ARMA has already taken a number of important steps to implement the Strategy Implementation Plan, including

She also said that thanks to international cooperation, ARMA has already determined the total amount of assets that were illegally transferred outside Ukraine.

“As of today, ARMA has traced seized assets worth over 100 billion USD. Therefore, our systematic work should be aimed at returning these assets to Ukraine or the proceeds from their sale, in accordance with the procedure for the sale of seized assets abroad approved by the Government,” summarized Olena Duma.

One of the most important issues on the agenda was the vote on the proposal of NGOs to include their representatives in the working group. The meeting participants unanimously supported this initiative. Thus, the IWG will include representatives of Transparency International Ukraine, the Institute of Legislative Ideas and the Legal Partnership of Ukraine. This step will help to increase transparency and involve a wide range of experts in the process of implementing the Strategy.

It is worth noting that the interagency working group currently includes the leadership of key government agencies, including: NABU, ARMA, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Justice, the State Financial Monitoring Service, the Bureau of Economic Security, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Bureau of Investigation, the State Border Guard Service and the State Customs Service.

At the end of the meeting, the Head of ARMA expressed her gratitude to all the participants for the constructive dialog and support in the implementation of the tasks.

It is worth reminding that the Asset Recovery Strategy for 2023-2025 is a strategic document that defines the main areas of work in the field of asset tracing, seizure and recovery. It is designed to ensure transparency of management processes and maximum compensation for state losses.