On June 03, with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI), ARMA meeting with representatives of the Agency for the Recovery and Management of Seized and Confiscated Assets of France (AGRASC) was held.
The Head of ARMA А. Yanchuk presented the Agency, outlined its goals and objectives, described the challenges that ARMA faces and shared information on achievements over a fairly long period of time since its creation.
Especially French colleagues were interested in information on the future launch of the Unified State Register of Assets Seized in Criminal Proceedings since there is no such tool in France.
The meeting was held in the form of expert consultations to discuss the biggest challenges faced by the Agencies both in legislative and practical terms.
During the day, separate practical and productive discussions were held with the heads of the Legal Department, the Asset Management Department and the Asset Recovery Department, during which, among other things, the following practical issues were discussed:
- the introduction of a pre-seizure planning mechanism, which is an important component of ensuring the effective property management;
- the mechanism of conducting by AGRASC studying’s, trainings, consultations for representatives of law enforcement agencies and judges, including at the stage of preparation for seizure;
- methods for managing specific assets;
- organization of control over the activities of ARMA and AGRASC;
- managing confiscated assets and much more.
During the second day of the visit, AGRASC representatives conducted an introductory visit to the Head office of SE “SETAM”, during which they were able to get acquainted with the general principles of operation of the state enterprise.
During his presentation, the General Director of the SE “SETAM” V. Vyshnyov acquainted the French colleagues with the legislative and practical principles of the enterprise's operation and the functioning of the electronic trading system of seized property. V. Vyshnyov also informed the representatives of AGRASC about the history of creation and development of the enterprise, the main statistical and financial indicators of its work, the asset monitoring system, prospective directions of activity, such as land auctions, etc.
Special attention was paid by the head of SE "SETAM" to the introduction and use of "blockchain" technology in the work of the enterprise.
In turn, the French experts noted the advanced experience of the Ukrainian enterprise on the application of the aforementioned technology, and expressed confidence that such a mechanism significantly increases the security and openness of the process of conducting electronic trading with seized property.
In addition, representatives of AGRASC were able to get acquainted with the practical work of the SE “SETAM” regional branch in the Kyiv region, where they visited the warehouse of movable property and inspected the site, where more than 600 seized cars are stored, noting a similar system in France.
In summing up the expert consultations, it was expressed the hope for further fruitful cooperation between ARMA and AGRASC, which would provide our institutions with a valuable opportunity to work together in partnership and exchange the best practices.
