Commission agrees to provide 10 days for SBU investigation, postpones interviews with candidates to head BES to June 21, 22, 23
The competition commission for the position of director of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) has approved a new schedule of interviews with finalists, and has set the dates for them - June 21, 22 and 23.
According to the online broadcast of the meeting on Wednesday, all six members of the commission supported the decision to postpone the interviews and give the Security Service of Ukraine 10 days to investigate the three candidates' ties to the aggressor state.
The head of the commission, Laura Stefan, noted that the competition commission received a new letter from Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU), confirming that there is a need for further verification of certain candidates.
"We do not have a clear deadline from the SBU, nor do we have the names of candidates for whom additional verification is being introduced. But we understand the importance of conducting such a verification, and we are all working here in the interests of Ukraine," she added.
In addition, Stefan emphasized that instead of a face-to-face format, interviews with candidates will be held online.
The number of interviews with candidates will be maintained: on June 21, they will be held with Roman Tatarynov, Ihor Shepetin, Serhiy Mashtabei, Roman Yaromyk, Viktor Dubovyk, Ruslan Pakhomov and Oleksandr Skomarov, on June 22, interviews are planned with Maksym Vorul, Ruslan Damentsov, Amil Omarov, Mykhailo Bortov, the last one on this day is Atila Kovchy, and on June 23, Oleksandr Syvinsky, Oleksandr Sytnikov, Oleh Borisenko and Ruslan Rachinsky will be interviewed.
The commission did not agree on the date for announcing the results, however, according to Stefan, they will try to make a decision, as planned, on the last day after the interviews are completed.
"I and my sources are convinced that the president's task to disrupt the BES competition is still set. And it will be carried out one way or another. Most likely, it will be through the court, but they still have a couple of options in stock. I think they will wait for the IMF board meeting and immediately block it after that," Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Holos faction) said.
As reported, on June 8, members of the commission from Ukraine proposed to suspend the competition due to receiving a letter from the SBU regarding suspicions of three candidates in ties with Russia and asked to give the service more time for the investigation. Three international members of the commission voted to continue the competition, and since, by law, their votes prevail, the competition was to continue after 24 hours.
Later, on June 9, members of the commission from Ukraine - Yuriy Ponomarenko, Oleh Hylyaka and Tetyana Matselyk - did not come to the meeting, thereby disrupting the quorum. It was planned that interviews with 16 candidates would be held on June 8-10 and the winner would be determined on June 10 in the afternoon.
The competition is being held within the framework of Law No. 10439 on the reboot of BES, approved by the Rada on June 29, 2024, which provides for a competitive selection of a new head with the participation of experts delegated by international partners, as well as certification of the Bureau's employees within a year after the appointment of the new director.