The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is putting forward a number of requirements for Ukraine to receive the next tranche of financial assistance. One of the key conditions is the holding of an open competition for the position of the head of the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGVFO) with the involvement of foreign observers.
This was reported by economic expert Oleksandr Okhrimenko in a comment.
In September, the IMF mission will begin work in Ukraine in the context of preparations for the fifth revision of the extended financing program. Expert discussions will focus on the status of Ukraine's fulfillment of the terms of the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policy. It is planned that as a result of a successful revision of the program, Ukraine will receive the next tranche from the IMF in the amount of about 1.1 billion dollars.
"There is a demand, first of all, to hold transparent elections of the supervisory board of NJSC Naftogaz." Yes, indeed, there are requirements in general in the future, if the heads of higher state bodies, including the FGVFO, are elected, that there be a transparent competition, but it is not only for the Fund. We still have the issue of the State Securities Commission, they also demand that there be transparent elections," the expert added.
According to him, the IMF requires that the heads of all state structures be elected publicly and only through an open competition.
"Another of the requirements is that there must be foreign experts in the competition, to be evaluated. Because we had a situation - the competition is public, and when it comes to the final result, it turns out that the person who is chosen has a not very good reputation and no one pays attention to it. That's why the IMF requires that if you hold a competition, the competition commission should include 30% of foreign independent experts so that they can influence the decision," Okhrimenko added.
In addition, according to him, the IMF also requires an audit of the National Bank of Ukraine. First of all, according to Okhrimenko, the audit should concern the gold and currency reserves, to what extent they meet the requirements.
Also, foreign partners emphasize that anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine should be independent.
"There, the main requirements relate to anti-corruption legislation. We need to finish our reforms related to making NABU, the anti-corruption system, independent. This is not a critical situation, but they will do it," said Okhrimenko.
Earlier it became known that the Administrative Board of the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund dismissed Svitlana Recrut from the position of managing director of the FGVFO due to the expiration of her 5-year contract. Currently, the duties of the managing director are performed by the Deputy Recruit - Olga Bilay. According to media reports, the Fund's board of directors plans to appoint a new manager behind closed doors. Bilay and the head of the National Bank's Problem Asset Management Department, Pavlo Polyarush, are among the applicants.
In one of the interviews, Recruit reported that the IMF requires Ukraine to make changes to the legislation in terms of conducting an open competition for the position of the head of the FGVFD. Currently, there is no such procedure in the legislation. According to her, Kyiv undertook to develop and approve such a procedure in the spring of 2025. It is possible that Bilay may remain acting. the managing director of the FGVFD before holding an open competition for this position, because it makes no sense to appoint the head of the Fund for several months.
Earlier, journalists found out that one of the applicants who is being considered for the position of the managing director of the FGVFO is Pavlo Polyarush, the head of the National Bank's Troubled Assets Department. According to media reports, he traveled abroad several times after the start of the large-scale invasion. In particular, journalists reported that in November 2022, he received permission to leave the country from the odious ex-deputy minister of defense, who is currently suspected of corruption crimes. The permit was allegedly issued to Polarush to travel abroad in a luxury Lexus car for humanitarian aid. At the same time, it is not yet known on what grounds Polyarush traveled abroad from February to November 2022.
Mykola Velichkovich, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine's Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, believes that law enforcement officers should deal with Polyarush's trips abroad. And a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, Gennadiy Kasai, does not rule out that Polyarush may have problems because of this during the special inspection as a candidate for the position of managing director of the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund.
