To the President of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky
To the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Rostyslav Stefanchuk
Prime Minister of Ukraine
D.A. Shmyhal
Think tanks specializing in economic policy are addressing you regarding the following.
The Economic Security Bureau (ESB) is the central executive body in Ukraine responsible for combating offenses that threaten the state’s economy. Given the critical importance of this body’s effective operation for the country, in 2024, analytical centers actively supported the draft law on the reboot of the BEB as the only possible option for a qualitative renewal of the Bureau of Economic Security by commissions with a majority vote of international experts.
Draft law No. 10439 was adopted in 2024 and became Law of Ukraine No. 3840-IX, which came into force on July 1, 2024. However, more than a year has passed, and Ukraine still does not have a new director of the BEB, which is hindering the reboot of this law enforcement agency, which is crucial for minimizing and preventing tax evasion schemes, and creates risks of defaulting on our obligations to international partners. In particular, the memorandum with the IMF stipulates: “Appoint the director of the BEB no later than July 2025.”
In addition, given the need to find additional funding for the country’s defense this year and next, the issues of de-shadowing the economy and minimizing “gray schemes” are of the utmost importance. For example, in the sphere of production and trade in excisable goods, an important area of activity for the Bureau, the state budget loses UAH 35-38 billion per year.
At its meeting on July 7, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine rejected the candidacy of Oleksandr Tsivinsky, who was nominated for approval by the Commission for the Selection of the Director of the Economic Security Bureau.
According to reports, during the consideration of the nomination for the position of Director of the Economic Security Bureau, the Cabinet of Ministers examined additional materials provided by the Security Service of Ukraine, which allegedly relate to national security issues and contain relevant security assessments.
At the same time, the winner of the competition, submitted by the Commission to the CMU, had previously passed all the necessary checks, including a special check by the SBU. In addition, the procedure for rejection by the Cabinet of Ministers is not provided for by the Law on the BEB (part sixteen of Article 15 of the Law on the BEB).
Given the above, Ukrainian analytical centers call on:
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is to comply with paragraph 16 of Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine” and, based on the information submitted by the competition commission about the candidate selected as a result of the competition, to appoint him as Director of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine to take personal control of the issue of the transparent and fair appointment of the Director of the BEB and to make appropriate personnel decisions regarding the SBU officials responsible for vetting candidates for the position of Director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine;
It is essential to appoint a new Director of the BEB in July 2025, selected by the Commission with the decisive vote of international experts, and to immediately unblock the further qualitative reboot of the personnel of the entire Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine.
Sincerely,
Center for Social and Economic Research – CASE Ukraine
Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting
Growford Institute
Center for Economic Strategy
Institute for Social and Economic Transformation
Institute for Economic Leadership
Advanter Group Analytical Center
Network for the Protection of National Interests “ANTS”
Analytical Center “Technologies of Progress”
Office of the Chief Economist of the Coalition of Business Communities for the Modernization of Ukraine
Institute of Finance and Law
Association of Tax Consultants
Institute for Tax Reforms
Center for Public Expertise