One of the country’s main anti-corruption bodies is once again at the epicenter of a scandal: the head of ARMA Elena Dumi is accused of possible connections with state traitors, and for some reason the “new” uniform for employees is very similar to the clothes of law enforcement officers. Is Vadim Grona really the “gray eminence” in ARMA and, on his instructions, they manage confiscated assets worth billions of hryvnia?
Scandals around ARMA do not subside. This time, the center of attention was the uniform of an unidentified sample, in which the agency employees in the photo are promoting themselves. As well as the reorganization of the Agency’s staff, previously planned by the Cabinet of Ministers. In addition, Bihus.Info claims that Kiev businessman Vadim Grona gives “instructions” to ARMA employees regarding seized assets.
So, about everything really
A photo of ARMA workers wearing an unspecified uniform has appeared online. This was immediately noticed by the Anti-Corruption Council at ARMA, as well as the public. After all, for some reason the clothes are very similar to the police uniform.
The Chairman of the Public Council at ARMA, Igor Chobitko, contacted the agency for clarification regarding the new form of an unidentified sample and for what funds it was purchased.
“We asked ARMA why the agency’s management team was wearing unspecified clothing. For what money was it purchased and what legal acts regulate its wearing. We invite the SBU to look into the situation. ARMA uniforms have insignia - chevrons. If we compare it with the ARMA emblem, then it has three stars, and the chevrons have 5 stars. We contacted ARMA with this question. According to Article 148 of the Constitution, however, clothing must be in official business style and meet the general requirements of decency and moral behavior of officials, therefore ARMA employees adhere to official business style. However, agency workers are not law enforcement officers, so ARMA clothing misleads the public regarding the involvement of agency workers in law enforcement during martial law. This is not business style. You are in the public service, for whom is this whole masquerade?” says I. Chebotko.
At ARMA's request, they sent a response letter, which explained that the established description and samples of uniforms and insignia for ARMA employees are not provided for by legislative acts. Accordingly, no funds were allocated from the State budget and uniforms for ARMA were not purchased.
So, what is this uniform in which ARMA workers pose?
Was he really bought for PR at his own expense? And why was this uniform purchased only for the workers in this photo? But for the other 200 ARMA employees who did not participate in the photo shoot, the clothes turned out to be unnecessary? In addition, there are five stars on the uniform chevrons, but the agency distinction is only three stars. The suspended head of the territorial administration, Vladislav Romanov, also asked these questions.
“The form is not established for employees of this institution by any regulatory document. There is no information about its official inclusion on the organization’s balance sheet, as required by law. During the 7 years of the agency’s existence, employees never used uniforms in everyday life. During the entire tenure of the Duma, it’s surprising that why, for such PR, illegal heraldry was used (there are 5 stars on the chevrons, which do not clearly mean), and on the wall of the ARMA collegium hall, where the photo was solemnly taken, there are 3 of them. The need to wear a personnel officer’s uniform also seems strange , clerk, driver and other related specialists who have nothing to do with the main functions of this anti-corruption body (search and management of criminal assets). you bought the uniform with your own money.” At what cost and for what purpose is such glossy PR being financed against the backdrop of scandals regarding the activities of Elena Duma in ARMA,” says V. Romanov.
On the ProZorro website in October 2023, we see the purchase of services for the development of sketches of the emblem, flag and departmental incentive awards for ARMA.
Why did you need to make a sketch if you didn’t plan to purchase the uniform?
By the way, photos of ARMA employees in this sample uniform are posted not only on the pages of online publications. On Facebook, on the page of the head of ARMA, it appears in several messages.
However, the uniform is not the only news regarding ARMA that is now being actively discussed.
Today, the reorganization of the staff of the Assets Tracing and Management Agency (ARMA), planned by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, continues, providing for a reduction of 169 personnel units.
This is exactly what the agency disagrees with. Here they say that “by saving on staffing of the National Agency, the government limits its ability to carry out the tasks and functions assigned to the body, including according to new transparent procedures,” says a message on the official website.
On December 25, 2023, ARMA sent its proposals on staffing. Later, the Agency for Tracing and Asset Management received an opinion from the Ministry of Finance, which noted the agreement of the act with the comments. As a result of the dialogue with the Ministry of Finance, an understanding was reached to support ARMA’s position with a phased recruitment of workers.
The Agency for Regulation of Financial Services Markets proposed to distribute personnel between interregional territorial departments and the central office of the agency in relation to 90 to 300 employees, in order to reduce the total number of ARMA employees from 435 to 390.
However, on December 29, 2023, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, changes to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 85 were approved, and this happened without taking into account the position of ARMA and the conclusion of the Ministry of Finance.
What is the essence of the conflict?
Already on January 1, Elena Duma, the head of the agency, stated in a post on Facebook that the Government was limiting the agency’s ability to carry out the tasks and functions assigned to the body, including under new transparent procedures.
After this, the Chairman of the Public Council at ARMA, Chobitko, addressed the President of Ukraine: “Under such circumstances, we look like a bad owner who is trying to throw our problems onto our neighbor. Thus, we expose ourselves to a significant risk of mutual understanding on the part of our external donors.
I am addressing you as the head of the body through which, according to the Law of Ukraine, public control over the activities of the National Agency is ensured. This is a matter of national security. I ask you to urgently consider at the level of the National Security and Defense Council, the Government, and the Parliament the issue of unblocking the work of ARMA, its functioning in a legal field and in a sufficient number of employees to perform the assigned tasks and functions, and the use of Russian assets in favor of Ukraine,” sums up the chairman of the City Council at ARMA.
Therefore, the issue of reducing the number of ARMA employees is now being considered.
Elena Duma also did not have a smooth transition to her post
Scandals surrounding the agency, which searches for criminal assets, sells and transfers seized property to the new management, began with the appointment of Elena Duma to the post of chairman.
Six members of the commission, namely Elena Yara, Ivan Leshchina, Dmitry Ostapenko, Sergey Vernidubov, Yuri Kiskin and Mikhail Ivanenko, expressed their support for Elena Duma during the vote. Commission members Yuri Butusov and Valts Kalnins refused to vote on this candidacy.
Moreover, lawyer and member of the competition commission Dmitry Ostapenko decided to withdraw his vote, which was cast in favor of the candidate Elena Duma. He also expressed his comments regarding violations in the voting procedure for other candidates and is initiating a meeting of the competition commission to resolve these issues and shared this information on his Facebook page.
After the announcement of the results, the international anti-corruption organization Transparency International Ukraine called on government officials to refrain from supporting Elena Duma’s candidacy due to “great risks to the country’s reputation and the independent and effective activities of the anti-corruption ecosystem and law enforcement agencies.”
The organization emphasized that the Duma has close political ties and probable business contacts with the exker of the Crimean Security Service, Oleg Kulinich, who is considered a state traitor and is suspected of collaborating with Russia. According to Transparency International Ukraine, the current head of ARMA promoted Kulinich’s interests in the Chernihiv region.
In addition, four years ago, the future head of the Agency for Search and Asset Management actively participated in attempts to discredit the current US President. According to Vitaly Shabunin, she took part in a press conference, during which information about the corrupt practices of high-ranking officials in Ukraine was presented, in particular, the “Rotterdam +” scheme was disclosed.
“Remember the FSB special operation of Giuliani/Derkach about a totally corrupt Ukraine, the theft of American money in which Biden was allegedly protecting?.. The Ukrainian government can appoint a person to a key position in managing Russian assets who helped destroy the then candidate, and now the current president,” noted Shabunin.
In particular, she is accused of holding a joint press conference with Rudolph Giuliani's financial donor Sam Kislin, a former lawyer and adviser to former US President Donald Trump.
Public activists also discovered connections between Elena Duma and the former head of the SBU Valentin Nalyvaichenko. During her leadership of the Chernihiv regional state administration, Elena Kovalenko, who is also a co-founder of the public organization “Anti-Corruption Movement of V. Nalyvaichenko,” Elena Duma worked as deputy chairman.
At the same time, the leader of the Anti-Corruption Center, Vitaly Shabunin, expressed his reaction to this appointment as follows: “At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed the Duma, demonstrably not giving a damn about the position of the G7 and the illegality of its appointment.”
Elena Duma responded to these reproaches quite sharply immediately after her appointment. She announced on her Facebook page about customized materials and a “dirty campaign against her.”
However, despite all the comments, on June 30, 2023, by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, she was appointed Chairman of the Agency for Tracing and Asset Management.
But again ARMA gets into a new scandal
According to the investigation of our fellow journalists “Bihus.Info”, the so-called “shadow curator” - entrepreneur Vadim Grona, who was an adviser to the head of the agency Elena Duma from July 7 to October 3, 2023 inclusive, could be behind the activities of ARMA. On October 4, he was dismissed, as stated in the order, at his own request.
However, his dismissal from the post of adviser to the chairman of ARMA did not prevent him from joining the Anti-Corruption Council under the Agency for Tracing and Asset Management and becoming deputy chairman.
As journalists recorded, he constantly makes visits to the agency, although he is no longer an ARMA employee.
Using an electronic card that he probably shouldn't have, a person without registration takes visitors into the agency and puts them in contact with ARMA officials.
Moreover, journalists claim that he gives instructions to agency employees. “Yes, on October 5, 2023, he called the then head of the Central Interregional Terrestrial Directorate of ARMA, Vladislav Romanov, to the asset management department. Provided him with instructions that related to one of the seized assets. And when Romanov refused to carry it out and left, Grona caught up with him at the exit of the agent and hit him. The event was caught on CCTV cameras at ARMA,” says the Bihus.Info material.
However, it was not Gron who was fired at that time, but Vladislav Romanov.
Since the Anti-Corruption Council functions as a public body and its representatives are not employees of the agency, they cannot freely enter it or use electronic access cards. However, this rule does not apply to Vadim Grona, because he visited the agency almost every day.
True, on December 20, 2023, Vadim Grona voluntarily left the post of Deputy Chairman of the ARMA Anti-Corruption Council and resigned from its membership. Elena Duma said at the meeting that negative information about him in the media led to an investigation and verification.
“As the head of the Agency, I welcome the decision of the Deputy Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Council of ARMA, which allows us to avoid discrediting the body and this consultative and advisory body under it,” commented the Chairman of the National Agency Elena Duma. — Negative information in the media would require a lot of time and effort to verify, so I am pleased that reputational capacity has been ensured. In addition, the activities of the government body are aimed at embodying zero tolerance for corruption, transparency and virtue. ARMA will continue to maintain a high level transparency and justify the legitimate demands of civil society. confidence in the Agency."
And finally, a little about Vadim Gron himself. Who is it?
Entrepreneur Vadim Grona owns several companies in Kyiv:
PROVIDENT LLC, whose main activity is the purchase and sale of its own real estate;
LLC "ZEMRASBUILD", the main activity is activities in the field of engineering, geology and geodesy, providing technical consulting services in these areas
LLC "RECRUITING SOLUTIONS", main activity - wholesale trade of solid, liquid, gaseous fuels and similar products
LLC "KORS OIL", the main activity is the purchase and sale of its own real estate
LLC "GOLD TERRA BUILD", whose main activity is the purchase and sale of its own real estate
VIZANT LLC, main activity – purchase and sale of own real estate
PP "EQUIP MARKET", main activity - activities in the field of engineering, geology and geodesy, provision of technical consulting services in these areas
LLC "VV-BRIC TRUST" main activity is the purchase and sale of its own real estate.
LLC "Vintel PLUS", the main activity is wholesale trade in solid, liquid, gaseous fuels and similar products.
Looking at the number of companies specializing in the purchase and sale of real estate, the conclusion about the purpose of visiting ARMA perhaps suggests itself.
In general, today Grona is the owner of 16 companies, and is also a director in 10.
The case of the Bortnichi breeding plant and the resold lands
If we dig deeper into the affairs of Vadim Grona, we will see that he is where enterprises or land are going bankrupt, or rather, they are being squeezed out. Back in 2006, Grona appeared in the high-profile bankruptcy case of Bortnichi Breeding Plant OJSC, which was published on the front pages of a large number of newspapers.
And so, the whole point was that Bortnichi Breeding Plant OJSC was unable to repay the debt to Torgservice LTD, an enterprise with foreign investments. And how then it turned out that these debts were transferred to Torgservice LTD in 1995 by Ukrnaftogazbank under unclear circumstances. Then the bankrupt enterprise transfers the land of 1802 to individuals for the right to use.
However, already in 2005, courts began declaring these land certificates invalid. And so, in 2006, the shareholders of the breeding farm were: resident individuals - 41, 1869%; the regional branch of the State Property Fund for the Kyiv region - 24.8227% and the enterprise with foreign investments Interfinservice LTD - 19.7323%, the owner of which is well known to us Vadim Grona, and by 2004 the English company Bellaway Limited. It’s quite interesting - the same people were the founders of Torgservice LTD.
Today, the beneficiaries of the PJSC Breeding Plant “BORTNICHI” are Tatyana Nikitina and Vadim Grona with a decisive vote of influence. By the way, Nikitina was the head of the ZEMRASBUILD company until 2017; the director and owner today is Grona.
And again in a court case regarding land, Grona appears in 2019. Such Provident LLC received ownership of a plot with cadastral number 3220882600:05:002:0004. The owner of this company, according to Youcontrol, is Vadim Leonidovich Grona.
Subsequently, this land is divided into three sections - 3220882600:05:008:0067 (area 0.3 hectares), 8000000000:90:455:0001 (area 2.2 hectares) and 80000000000:00 above 2. All of them are intended for farming.
After this, the plot of 2.39 hectares was resold several more times, and Renta City LLC became its final owner in 2019. And when the notary Irina Zatvarnitskaya tried to register the ownership of “Renta City” for the purchased plot, it turned out that there were buildings on this land, namely the “Step by Step” rehabilitation center, and the plot was located within Kyiv. Although the documents for the site indicate the village. Gnedin, Kyiv region. Therefore, the Kyiv City Council went to court to invalidate the agreement.
Then the Economic Court of the city of Kyiv refused to satisfy the claim of the Kyiv City Council and an application was filed with the cassation court. And already here, analyzing the composition of third parties in the cassation ruling of the court, we again see a connection with Grona and Bortnichi.
After all, the owner of Traid Tsara LLC, Andrey Balitsky, is also a co-owner with Vadim Grona of another enterprise, Agrokom-Invest LLC.
In addition, quite recently Vintel PLUS LLC was also headed by Andrey Balitsky, and today it is Vadim Grona
So, as we see, Vadim Grona is very interested in the lands and property of the bankrupt participants. Accordingly, such interest in ARME, where fairly large spheres of influence are accumulated, becomes understandable. Therefore, there are a lot of questions in ARMU and not all of them are convenient.
Member of the Anti-Corruption Council of ARMA Denis Shinkarenko, in turn, said that Vadim Grona actually voluntarily resigned from the Anti-Corruption Council of ARMA after the publication of the investigation by Bihus.Info journalists.
StopCor analysts submitted relevant requests to ARMU to clarify information regarding the receipt of assets by Vadim Grona’s companies for management. We are also trying to personally get a comment from ARMA Chairman Elena Duma on social networks and have additionally sent requests to the company of the ex-Deputy Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Council Vadim Grona, namely ZEMRASBUILD LLC and PROVIDENT LLC for comments. We are waiting for a response and will keep you updated on developments.
