1+1 media's statement regarding the ARMA competition for the manager of UMH
Group 1+1 media is concerned about the manner in which the competition of the National Agency of Ukraine for the Identification, Search and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) for the management of the assets of Ukrainian Media Holding (UMH) is taking place. We observe chaos, inconsistency and illogicality in the actions of the Agency against the background of the absence of a clearly prescribed procedure for conducting the competition - the fact of the existence of such a document is unknown to us.
The transparency of the process is also a cause for concern - the participants' bids were not published according to the Prozorro principle or on their resource, although the activities of both ARMA and Prozorro is regulated by one law - "On public procurement". The minutes of the Agency's meetings, at which decisions were made regarding the results of the competition, are not publicly available. This would help the 1+1 media group to find out which requirements were not met during the preparation and submission of documents to ARMA , as the company did not receive any feedback from the Agency.
The order of actions and communications carried out by the Agency during this period is also surprising. Here is the chronology of events:
"1+1 Internet" LLC, which is a part of the 1+1 media group , submitted its application within the terms specified by the terms of the first competition - until July 3, 2020 inclusive. As of July 3, 2020, according to the reliable information of the media holding, 5 participants took part in the competition, including 1+1 Internet LLC. A week later, on July 9, 2020 , the Agency posted the news that it had received documents from 6 companies, and a package of documents from another participant was sent by mail.
In the evening of July 20, ARMA announced a new competition, without informing about the results of the previous one or about its cancellation, which was recorded by the Ukrainian mass media . The next day, July 21, information on the results of the competitive selection appeared on the Agency's website, but dated July 20.
All this gives us reason to believe that ARMA is being pressured to make a decision in favor of a particular company, and the existing procedures, or their absence at all, cannot guarantee a fair competition.
The 1+1 media group will take part in the new competition for the manager of UMH assets, but requires to ensure its openness, transparency and non-involvement of the members of the commission that consider the applications.
