ARMA UAH 426 million embezzlement case: new suspect

NABU and SAPO have exposed a lawyer who aided and abetted in securing unauthorized access to the closed section of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions in order to conceal the corruption scheme for illegal trade in seized property transferred under the management of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). On Oct. 19, 2022, he was notified of suspicion of committing a crime under Part 5 Art. 27, Part 2 Art. 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Thus, the number of scheme participants has increased to eight persons.

As established, the suspect was paid to obtain and communicate to his brother (also a lawyer participating in the scheme) the Register access data. Logins and passwords belonged to another authorized user. This allowed the scheme participants to be aware of possible investigative actions into their corrupt activities.

As previously reported, in July 2022, NABU and SAPO exposed a scheme for trading in property seized in criminal proceedings, orchestrated by a former ARMA head and representatives of SETAM (a state enterprise dealing with the sale of seized property). As a result, the damage to the state reached UAH 426 million. In October, the number of suspects increased to seven persons.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered non-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.