Форми та методи міжнародного співробітництва суб’єктів публічної адміністрації у забезпеченні фінансово-економічної безпеки України

Abstract

This article provides an administrative and legal analysis of the forms and methods of international cooperation among Ukraine’s public administration entities in the sphere of financial and economic security under martial law and the country’s status as an EU candidate. The relevance of this topic stems from the transnational nature of money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, sanctions evasion, and cybercrime, which necessitates international cooperation. International cooperation is defined as coordinated activities aimed at jointly identifying and neutralizing transnational threats, harmonizing regulatory and law enforcement standards, exchanging financial intelligence, bringing perpetrators to justice, and recovering assets. Based on the legal basis and composition of participants, four levels of cooperation are distinguished: multilateral treaty-based cooperation, regional cooperation within international organizations, bilateral intergovernmental cooperation, and interagency cooperation among specialized agencies. Based on an analysis of the UN Convention against Corruption, the Council of Europe’s Warsaw Convention, the Association Agreement with the EU, mutual evaluation reports, and the practices of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine, the Economic Security Bureau, and anti-corruption agencies, this paper examines the functions of cooperation frameworks and methods for their implementation. The paper examines Ukraine’s participation in the Egmont Group, its interaction with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Eurojust, and the Camden Asset Recovery Network, as well as new methods of cooperation after 2022 in the areas of sanctions, restitution, and institutional and technical matters. It has been established that informal networking channels serve a preparatory function without replacing legal assistance. The effectiveness of this cooperation is hampered by an imbalance between Ukraine’s activity in submitting requests and the speed at which incoming requests are processed, insufficient protection of information exchange, and high staff turnover. The establishment of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority and Directive (EU) 2024/1226 on the criminalization of sanctions violations present new adaptation challenges. It is proposed to amend the Law of Ukraine “On Preventing and Combating the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime, the Financing of Terrorism, and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” by adding a provision on a unified registry for requests from foreign authorities, with a 30-day response deadline; to grant the National Agency of Ukraine for the Identification, Tracing, and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes the right to represent Ukraine in asset recovery networks; to conclude agreements with the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority; criminalize violations of restrictive measures; establish a network of liaison officers with Europol and Eurojust; introduce public performance indicators for cross-border cooperation.