The Verkhovna Rada registered Draft Law No. 7342, which proposes to amend the Law of Ukraine ‘On the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes’

According to the draft law, ARMA may have accounts in depository institutions.

During wartime, the ARMA will also be able to

• purchase government bonds using funds placed on their accounts;
• transfer assets to the state subject to reimbursement of their value;
• independently determine the procedure for holding a tender for appraisers and individuals or legal entities to whom the property is transferred for management.

If a decision is subsequently made to cancel the seizure, the owner may receive either the funds with interest at the time of sale or government bonds.

However, there are also comments to the draft law. On the one hand, the ARMA is the body that forms the policy in the field of asset tracing and identification, and on the other hand, it sets the criteria for selecting a particular entity to manage the seized property.
The body should not set the rules of its own behaviour, as this may lead to abuse.

The Institute of Legislative Ideas has no objection to the adoption of the draft law in terms of allocating seized funds to military bonds. At the same time, it is necessary to finalise the rules on the selection of entities to whom the property will be transferred for management.

Read more in our conclusion.