EU Project Pravo-Justice Supported Forum on Achievements and Challenges of OpenMarket SETAM Platform

On 19 August, EU Project Pravo-Justice supported a forum ‘SETAM – Leader of the Electronic Auction Market: 10 Years of Innovation, Openness, Trust and Results’. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the state-owned enterprise SETAM, the Department of State Enforcement Service, the Association of Private Enforcement Officers of Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine, the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine and banking institutions, as well as the EU Project Pravo-Justice, participated in the event.

Andrii Haichenko, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, noted that over the past decade, the OpenMarket E-Auction System of the state-owned enterprise SETAM has become one of the key tools for ensuring the open sale of seized, bank-owned, and other types of property.

“The results speak for themselves: over the past ten years, assets worth nearly UAH 28 billion have been sold, generating more than UAH 443 million in taxes, fees, and dividends for the state budget. Moreover, around 90,000 successful auctions have been held,” said Andrii Haichenko.

Roman Osadchuk, Director General of the state-owned enterprise SETAM, highlighted that in 2015-2025, Ukraine has succeeded in establishing an open market, providing equal opportunities for participants and stable revenues for the state.

“Before SETAM, auctions used to be held behind closed doors for a narrow circle of participants. Property often disappeared, while transparency was virtually non-existent. Today, SETAM is a modern platform that has transformed the rules for selling seized and bank-owned property in Ukraine, making them transparent, efficient and competitive,” emphasised Roman Osadchuk.

Iryna Zharonkina, Enforcement and Protection of Property Rights Component Lead at EU Project Pravo-Justice, noted that EU Project Pravo-Justice regards the development of transparent and effective mechanisms for selling seized property as one of the key elements of effective enforcement of court decisions. It, in turn, forms the foundation of citizens’ trust in the justice system and is an integral part of strengthening the rule of law.

“E-auctions held on the OpenMarket platform of the state-owned Enterprise SETAM have proven to be effective, demonstrating transparency, competitiveness and fair prices for assets. Furthermore, the European integration path undertaken by Ukraine opens up new opportunities to improve these processes – from applying cutting-edge technologies to strengthening institutional capacity and accountability,” said Iryna Zharonkina.

She also outlined the approaches and principles applied in EU Member States for building an e-auction system to sell seized assets in enforcement proceedings.

“The EU has clearly defined principles and standards for conducting public auctions to sell seized assets: transparent rules, access to online bidding, fair prices to protect debtors, efficiency for creditors, and the right of appeal available to both parties,” emphasised Iryna Zharonkina.

Yehor Razohrieiev, Director General of the Directorate for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalisation at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, presented upcoming updates to the OpenMarket SETAM web portal. He stated that the team is working to make the portal as user-friendly, secure, and intuitive as possible. In particular, they plan to implement the following changes:

• online registration and authentication for bidders through Diia;
• substantial upgrade and enhanced account functionality for sellers and buyers (for example, the “Buy Now” feature allows buyers to make purchases before the auction date);
• signing online agreements to register the purchased property and the right to lease the property;
• an interactive map displaying the geolocation of lots, along with an advanced filtering system.

“We aim to create a modern product that will operate effectively for at least the next decade, continually improving while remaining a symbol of transparency and convenience,” said Yehor Razohrieiev.

Forum participants also discussed prospects for cooperation between the state-owned enterprise SETAM and public and private contractors, as well as the specific aspects of selling bank-owned assets.