ARMA regularly receives legal requests that concern not only the interests of the owners of seized assets transferred to the Agency's management, but also related to the identification and search of assets. As the majority of such appeals contain typical questions, ARMA has decided to provide general clarifications regarding the capabilities and powers of ARMA during their consideration.
1. The lawyer of a person recognized as a victim in criminal proceedings requests to identify and search the suspect's assets.
In accordance with the Law on ARMA, the National Agency takes measures to identify and search for assets exclusively in response to requests from bodies conducting pre-trial investigations, prosecutors' offices (represented by their heads), courts, investigators, detectives, prosecutors, courts (investigating judges).
2. The lawyer of the person involved in the criminal proceedings asks to provide information on whether ARMA has taken measures to identify and search for assets owned by his client.
In accordance with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the information of the pre-trial investigation can be disclosed only with the written permission of the investigator or prosecutor and to the extent that they consider possible.
In addition, information containing pre-trial investigation data, other information specified in the appeals of competent authorities regarding the identification and/or search of assets, which came to ARMA and became known during the Agency's exercise of its powers, are included in the list of information constituting official information according to the order of the National Agency.
Information that allows the identification of a person involved in criminal proceedings is a mandatory requisite for an application for the identification and search of assets, which was submitted to the ARMA.
3. The lawyer of the person – a participant in the criminal proceedings – requests to provide information, copies of documents that are or may be at the disposal of ARMA as a result of the measures taken to identify and search for assets.
In order to comply with the goal defined by the criminal procedural legislation in terms of non-disclosure of pre-trial investigation information, information and materials related to the results of actions aimed at the search and identification of assets, according to which it is possible to directly or indirectly identify the persons specified in the appeals of law enforcement officers, are included in the list of information, which constitute official information in ARMA.
4. The lawyer of the sanctioned person, against whom a sanction in the form of blocking of assets was applied by the decision of the National Security Council, requests to provide information, copies of documents related to the identification and search of his client's assets by ARMA.
In order to implement the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions" and to ensure the involvement of ARMA in the identification and search of assets of individuals and legal entities specified in the relevant decisions of the National Security Council, a joint order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and ARMA was issued, which approved the Procedure for providing information to ARMA at the request of the Ministry of Justice .
In addition, if the information specified in the requests of law enforcement officers is not specified in the Law of Ukraine "On State Secrets", it is, as noted, classified as official information.
Limitation of access to information related to the identification and search by ARMA of assets of sanctioned persons is carried out exclusively in the interests of national security, territorial integrity , as well as to maintain the authority and impartiality of justice, since the disclosure of such information can cause significant damage to these interests. At the same time, the damage caused by ARMA's disclosure of relevant information outweighs the public interest in obtaining it, as it creates the possibility of the sanctioned person concealing assets in order to avoid the application of a sanction in the form of their collection into state income.
Thus, the Law of Ukraine "On Information" establishes that official information is information with limited access. In accordance with the requirements of the Law on ARMA, the Head of the National Agency and his deputies, officials and officials of ARMA are prohibited from disclosing information with limited access received in connection with the performance of their official duties, except in cases established by law.
Also, the information requested by the lawyer, obtained during the implementation of criminal proceedings, is provided to him exclusively in the manner established by the criminal procedural law.