Racketeering in the trade union building

June 12 statement by Social Movement (edited machine translation) On 6 June, events took place at the Trade Union House in Kyiv that can hardly be called normal for a state governed by the rule of law. In the morning, representatives of ARMA (the The National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Managing Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes — ed.) broke into the building together with employees of the newly appointed ‘property manager’ — the UK KAMparitet consortium.

This company is involved in a high-profile corruption investigation, which proves the connection between the new owners of the assets and Minister of Justice Stefaniishyna. In less than a year, KAMparitet won four tenders for the management of seized property — more than a third of all tenders held by ARMA.

Employees of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine were given an ultimatum: either sign contracts with the new manager within three days or leave the premises. Access to workplaces was blocked by unknown individuals of athletic build. People who went out for a break were not even allowed to retrieve their personal belongings. Journalists were only allowed in after prolonged resistance.

Trade union activist Natalia Zemlyanska was also injured — she was pushed, fell and injured her leg. Soon after, MP Serhiy Rudyk, who has a public reception office here, arrived at the building. He was also initially denied entry.

The events at the Trade Union House once again raise the question of who is actually in charge of the seized property in the country and in whose interests they are acting. In addition to clear signs of raiding, the Social Movement considers this to be political pressure on trade union representation and another alarming sign of increasing repression against organised labour initiatives. Attention FPU activists!

We are ready to provide you with assistance that will allow you to continue the fight to defend the labour rights of working people.

Backgrounder (Ukrainska Pravda): How seized assets are transferred to people associated with Minister Stefaniishyna

Mikhail Tkach — Wednesday, 4 June 2025 (edited machine translation) The National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Managing Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) was established ten years ago, back in 2015. The extraordinary level of corruption in Ukraine, as well as Russian armed aggression, have led to the seizure of dozens and hundreds of valuable enterprises, factories, buildings and even yachts.

It is obvious that activities such as those carried out by ARMA are fraught with numerous corruption risks. Many individuals have a vested interest in the ‘correct’ redistribution of property.

For many years now, society has been demanding transparency from the agency and reform of the management of seized assets to prevent them from passing from one corrupt official to another (or even to the same ones through front men). After all, all corrupt and Russian assets can and must be used to fill the state budget with billions of hryvnias. As a result, the justice that politicians have long dreamed of and praised in their speeches can be established. But for some reason, this has not happened yet.

The activities of ARMA attracted the attention of Ukrainska Pravda in March this year. At that time, the agency identified the company that would manage a ‘landmark (as stated on the official website) for the capital’ – the Trade Union House on Independence Square.

We managed to find out that this new manager may be linked to the family of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna.

The Trade Union House is now the fourth valuable asset that, by coincidence or not, has been acquired by the same company.

Details are available in our new investigation.

Ukraine: ITUC condemns fresh attempt to obstruct trade union activities

June 7, 2025

On June 5, government agents accompanied by private security personnel entered the Trade Union House without warning and ordered FPU [Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine] staff to leave immediately. They took control of the building and blocked further access, significantly disrupting the work of the union.

This latest move follows earlier attacks on the trade union movement in Ukraine, including the arrest of FPU President Grygorii Osovyi. The continued interference in the legitimate work of the FPU reflects a broader pattern of pressure on trade unions.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “This is a clear and unacceptable attempt to block the legitimate activities of the FPU. The Ukrainian government must immediately end these attacks, respect trade union rights and restore the conditions for unions to carry out their work without interference, in line with its national and international obligations.”