The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and the National Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Poland have agreed on a roadmap for the recovery of illegally withdrawn and seized funds to Ukraine. The first practical case concerns the recovery of over USD 5 million.

“We are working for a concrete result for Ukraine. Today, we have agreed on practical mechanisms for the enforcement of court decisions of both countries to recover more than USD 5 million that were illegally withdrawn from Ukraine. The strong support of our Polish colleagues indicates a real opportunity to find an effective mechanism for the recovery of these funds,” said ARMA Head Olena Duma following the meeting.

According to her, the funds are planned to be recovered in two ways: as material evidence or as part of international legal assistance. Despite attempts to create obstacles by interested parties, both countries have sufficient legal instruments to successfully complete the process.

“This will be an important precedent. Poland will be the first country to implement a mechanism for recovering seized funds from foreign accounts. This will demonstrate to the world that such mechanisms really work,” emphasized Olena Duma.

The Head of ARMA also reported on the intensification of work with the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine to provide mutual legal assistance in this case.

The Polish procedural prosecutor in the case confirmed the readiness of the Polish side to ensure the recovery of funds to Ukraine, which demonstrates the high level of cooperation between law enforcement agencies of both countries and the common desire to restore justice.

The key point is that ARMA will be able to purchase military bonds with these funds. Thus, the funds will not only be recovered by Ukraine, but will also work for the defense capability of our country.

The negotiations were attended by a powerful team of representatives of the authorities of both countries. The Polish side was represented by: Malgorzata Adamajtys - Regional Prosecutor in Warsaw, Tomasz Nowicki - Deputy Regional Prosecutor in Warsaw, Krzysztof Bukowiecki - Deputy Director of the Economic Crimes Department of the National Public Prosecutor's Office, Izabela Stolarczyk - Prosecutor of the Economic Crimes Department of the National Public Prosecutor's Office, Justyna Brzozowska – Head of 2nd Department of Financial and Fiscal Crime of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, Marcin Górski - Head of the Division of Financial Crime in the 2nd Department of Financial and Fiscal Crime of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw

ARMA continues its systematic and large-scale work on recovering illegally transferred assets to Ukraine. The day before, the Head of ARMA met with Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland Vasyl Bodnar, Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service of the Republic of Poland Jarosław Strożyk, Jacek Bilewicz - Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Poland, Director of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau of Poland Agnieszka Kwiatkowska.