«Armageddon» for the author: how Olena Duma’s memoirs became the evidentiary base for accusations of embezzling state property

On July 30, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed Olena Duma from the position of head of the Agency for the Search and Management of Assets (ARMA). Everyone quickly forgot about her and switched to the reform of ARMA, which started on the same day.

"Economic Truth" writes about this.

As a result, the presentation of Duma’s book "ARMAgeddon for Corrupt Officials", which took place on July 24 at Taras Shevchenko University, went unnoticed by law enforcement agencies.

A photobook with text

From the perspective of an ordinary reader, the former high-ranking official released not a book, but a personalized photo album with biased memoirs about the results of her work at ARMA, in which the desired is presented as reality, everything is merely a facade of who she wants to appear to be, and facts are deliberately distorted in favor of her own reputation and to settle scores with opponents, including Anastasia Radina.

However, in this mental distortion, there are real signs:

misappropriation of state property (Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
causing damage to the state and abuse of power (Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
performing actions and making decisions in conditions of an unregulated conflict of interest (Art. 172-7 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses);
violation of personal non-property rights of individuals (Arts. 275, 278, 280 of the Civil Code of Ukraine), including military personnel, lawyers, people’s deputies, and heads of state authorities;
conclusion of invalid transactions for the alienation of state-owned objects (Arts. 203, 215 of the Civil Code of Ukraine).

In this regard, the former head of ARMA can be held civilly liable, administratively liable, and criminally liable.

State property rights

Duma’s book contains over 100 photographs of events, meetings, and activities involving agency officials, which were created as official works (objects of state copyright) by ARMA’s press service employees (setting up lighting, choosing angles, composition, etc.) in the course of performing their official duties, for the purpose of filling the official website of the state authority with information.

Essentially, it is a state photo archive created with budgetary funds.

According to Art. 14 of the law "On Copyright and Related Rights":

personal non-property copyright in the photographs belongs to the agency employees whose creative labor created them (the photobook makes no mention of them, which is also a violation);
property rights to these official works belong to the state from the moment of their creation.

According to court practice, the provisions of para. 3 of part 1 of Art. 434 of the Civil Code of Ukraine and para. 1 of part 1 of Art. 8 of the law "On Copyright and Related Rights", under which press information is not protected by copyright, do not apply to official works created with budgetary funds in the form of photographs.

Since para. 1 of Art. 2 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, para. 9 of part 1 of Art. 6 of the law "On Copyright and Related Rights", and the eighth paragraph of para. 1 of part 1 of Art. 433 of the Civil Code of Ukraine classify photographic works as a separate type of copyright objects that are not news reports or other facts of a press-information nature.

In other words, the photographs were only an addition to press information about facts that took place in the work of agency officials. In addition, as emphasized by EU directives No. 93/98/EEC and No. 2006/116/EC, photographic works are protected by copyright regardless of their value or purpose.

Abuse of power

In the photobook, the Latin letter "C" in a circle indicates that the owner of the property rights to the photographs is Olena Duma and the publisher, and it is additionally noted that the photographs were provided by ARMA’s press service.

Thus, someone on behalf of the agency, guided by Art. 49 of the law "On Copyright and Related Rights", had to conclude agreements with her and the publisher on the transfer (alienation) to them of the state’s property rights to the official works (the state photo archive created with budgetary funds).

According to part 4 of Art. 3 of the law "On the Management of State Property Objects", the sale (alienation) of state property objects is carried out on a competitive basis through electronic auctions (public tenders) in the electronic trading system.

However, there is no mention in the ProZorro system that the agency transferred (sold) to Duma and the publisher the property rights to the state photo archive.

Therefore, there are grounds to say that the former head of ARMA, while still in office and acting in her own interests and those of the publisher, may have abused her power and used her official position to illegally seize the photo archive, which was created as a result of the activities of a state authority, with budgetary funds, and is state property.

It is also necessary to check whether the agency’s press service regulations provided for the authority to transfer (alienate) the state’s property rights to the photo archive to private individuals.

Damage to the state

The book "ARMAgeddon for Corrupt Officials" was printed in a run of 1,000 copies and is sold on the publisher’s website for 1,250 UAH. Accordingly, the sale of the entire print run should bring the former high-ranking official and the publisher 1.2 million UAH (not counting possible reprints, re-editions, reprints, etc.).

Thus, today the state photo archive is being used by private individuals for commercial purposes without concluding an agreement with the state and paying compensation to it. As a result, the state has incurred damages (lost profits) in the amount of at least the market value of the property rights to the official works (photographs).

According to para. 2 of part 2 of Art. 22 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, lost profit is the income that a person could have actually received under normal circumstances if their right had not been violated.

The amount of such lost profit, as well as the market price of the relevant property rights, can be established by expert institutions of the Ministry of Justice, but they will not be less than the net profit expected by Duma and the publisher from the sale of the entire print run – about 400,000 UAH.

Throwing dust in the eyes

Today, on the publisher’s website, it is written that "all proceeds from the sale of the book go to replenish the book funds of school libraries in frontline areas."

Firstly, the facts of abuse of power, causing damage to the state, performing actions and making decisions in conditions of an unregulated conflict of interest, and violation of personal non-property rights of individuals do not go away.

Secondly, the said publisher has many educational and children’s books in its portfolio. If the former high-ranking official buys books from this publisher or any other bookstore with money from the sale of the photobook to donate to schools, it means that someone will definitely make money on the state photo archive.

Thirdly, for more than seven months, there has been no confirmation or anyone’s report that even one book was bought with the proceeds from the sale of the photobook and donated to any school. It is also unknown whether the profit from the sale of the photobook simply ends up in Duma’s pocket.

Conflict of interest

Separate questions arise regarding the integrity of the former head of ARMA and how she prevented and resolved the conflict of interest in the manner provided for by Art. 28 of the law "On Prevention of Corruption", which arose because while in office she could:

use official powers in private interests;
influence subordinates’ decisions on the transfer (alienation) to her benefit and the publisher’s benefit of the state photo archive created with budgetary funds;
by abusing power, illegally seize state property for the purpose of its further use personally and by the publisher for commercial purposes, for her own PR and to improve her political and career position.

Non-pecuniary damage

According to part 1 of Art. 307 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a natural person may be photographed only with their consent. Consent of a person to be photographed is presumed if the shooting is conducted openly on the street, at assemblies, conferences, rallies, and other public events.

As already mentioned, the photobook contains over 100 photographs of events, meetings, and activities involving officials of various state authorities, military personnel, lawyers, employees of enterprises, institutions, and organizations, including people’s deputies Anastasia Radina, Oleksiy Movchan, head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office Oleksandr Klymenko, Director of NABU Semen Kryvonos, head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov.

However, all these persons, if they gave consent to photography for the purpose of filling the agency’s official website with information, most likely did not consent to the use of their images by Duma and the publisher for commercial purposes and for their own PR.

As a result, Radina, Movchan, Klymenko, Kryvonos, Budanov, and others may demand in court that Duma and the publisher cease using their images in the photobook and compensate them for moral damage.

What in the end

According to Arts. 53, 55 of the law "On Copyright and Related Rights", the state may apply to the court for protection of its copyright with demands to prohibit the sale of the book "ARMAgeddon for Corrupt Officials" and to recover to the state budget all profits obtained from its sale.

According to Art. 51-2 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the National Police may draw up a protocol against Duma and the publisher for the illegal use of state intellectual property objects and, through the court, recover from them a fine in the amount of 83,200 UAH to 499,200 UAH, as well as confiscate the entire print run of the illegally produced photobook, as well as the equipment and materials used for its production.

In addition, Duma and the publisher may face criminal liability under Art. 176 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for the illegal reproduction, use, and distribution of official works (state photo archive) belonging to the state and created with budgetary funds, if the National Police investigators prove that this caused material damage on a significant scale, which, according to the note to the said article, amounts to 33,200 UAH or more (imprisonment for a term of 3 to 6 years).