Acting ARMA head: I respect decisions of selection commission

Acting Head of Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) Yaroslava Maksymenko expressed respect for the decision of the selection commission for the position of head of the Agency, which on March 25 approved the results of the cognitive skills test. According to those results, among 13 candidates who took the test, only one participant surpassed the approved threshold of 107 points – Viktor Dubovyk, Director General of the Directorate for Legal Policy at the Office of the President of Ukraine.

"I respect the decisions of the selection commission. Holding a competition is a necessary process for the development and strengthening of the institution. Moreover, the appointment of an ARMA head is an important condition for the implementation of the EU’s Ukraine Facility support program," Maksymenko said in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Responding to a question about whether she faces pressure in her work, she noted that "acting status, on the one hand, is a restraining factor for institutional capacity or subjectivity, and on the other hand, a preventive factor for subjectivity." "Of course, there are information attacks. When the competition began, they intensified. But these attacks have no basis. I am not a subject of any criminal proceedings and have not been involved in corruption scandals," Maksymenko said.

Commenting on information attacks against ARMA, the acting head said she views them as inevitable. "When there is control over resources, this is an inevitable process. The only thing is that I prefer to respond exclusively within the legal framework. Communication is important so that such attacks do not create a distorted information environment and so that society has objective and reliable information about the processes currently taking place within the Agency. I am personally open to dialogue, and all decisions and processes in the Agency are absolutely transparent. We provide all necessary and publicly relevant information," she said.

As reported, Dubovyk became the only contender for the position of ARMA head after the selection commission, at its March 25 meeting, approved the cognitive skills test results, according to which he was the only one among 13 candidates to exceed the 107-point passing threshold.

At its April 1 meeting, the commission rejected complaints from two candidates, Volodymyr Murzha and Dmytro Nikitin, regarding the conduct of the test. The applicants argued that a prolonged air raid alert in Kyiv during the March 24 test hindered concentration and prevented them from completing the task effectively.

According to the test results, Dubovyk scored 135 points, Maksymenko 104, Nikitin 103, Murzha 102, and the others scored below 100. The passing score was 107 points.

Since the appeals were rejected, only one candidate who successfully passed the threshold proceeds to the next stages of the competition. The next steps include completing a practical assignment and undergoing an interview. In parallel, the candidate continues to undergo an integrity assessment.

In total, the selection commission received 20 applications for participation in the competition for the position of ARMA head.