Hetmantsev to support opening of asset declarations register

Hetmantsev said this to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Last time, I supported the wording of the draft law in the version of the (specialized - ed.) committee. Similarly, given the President's position on opening declarations, I will support it now. That is, I will vote in favor of opening declarations," he said.

The MP explained that he does not oppose the immediate disclosure of declarations and considers this issue to be artificially exacerbated.

"First of all, the issue has never been about closing declarations, the rule states that an official has the right not to publish them for a year. An official can publish declarations, as I do, or bear political responsibility for their decision not to publish them.

Secondly, we are talking about 800,000 declarants who may have different security circumstances (e.g., local council members in frontline areas)," Hetmantsev said.

According to him, the immediate disclosure of declarations is out of the question.

"Thirdly, we are not talking about the immediate opening of declarations. Officials are given six months to submit them anyway," the committee head noted.

As reported, Volodymyr Zelensky expects the decision to immediately open the register of declarations to be made this month. According to the head of state, this is a matter not only of the political responsibility of the parliament but also of Ukraine’s negotiations with the European Union on accession.