"It's like an online store": selling Ferraris, apartments, and branches through SETAM. An interview with the head.

Over one billion hryvnias in the first half of 2025. That's how much the state received from the sale of property through the electronic system "SETAM". This system sells seized and confiscated assets, as well as property voluntarily put up for sale by businesses.

Through the State Enforcement Service (SETAМ), you can buy an apartment, a "Zhiguli" car for 2000 hryvnias, a Ferrari worth the amount of alimony, or a crane truck. Even socks and branches from the forest can end up at auction if there is a court decision to that effect.

LIGA.net I spoke with Roman Osadchuk, the head of the state enterprise "SETAM," about what exactly can be bought in the electronic system, which lots have the most competition, and also about what happens to unsold lots.

About working during wartime and competing with Prozorro.Sales

How many auctions took place in 2025?

In the first half of 2025, successful auctions were held for over 1 billion UAH, and 43 million UAH were paid into the state budget, which is 48.6% more compared to last year.

Speaking of sales volumes, seized property was sold for 727 million hryvnias, and voluntary sales amounted to 332 million.

– How much property is processed through SETAM now, compared to pre-war times?

In 2021, we had 43,000 lots listed. In 2024, there are already 22,000. That is, a drop by half. The volume of sales was also affected by legislative restrictions, in particular, moratoria on enforcement of mortgage claims on consumer loans. In addition, there are occupied territories where we cannot operate and, accordingly, we do not sell property.

– What is the current competition at the auctions, and on which lots is it the highest?

On average, we have three and a half to four participants per successful lot. The most competition is for vehicles. There are cases when the price increases to 500% of the starting price.

For example, in Chernivtsi this year we sold a crane truck: the starting price was 168,000 hryvnias, and we sold it for 1.2 million. There were 61 registered participants. There was also an example with a parking space in the Odesa region – the starting price was 189,000 hryvnias, and we sold it for almost 400,000.

Here are some more examples: a MAZ crane truck was sold (the sale price exceeded the starting price by 798%), a KrAZ vehicle (666%), and a body for a Volkswagen Caddy vehicle (721%).

"Do you compete with other platforms that sell assets, such as ProZorro.Sales?"

We are for healthy competition. The seller should choose the platform themselves. But now we see a trend towards artificially restricting this freedom of choice. From August 2025, state-owned banks will be obliged to sell assets only through one system. This does not comply with competitive principles. (Bank representatives, in informal conversations, emphasize that such an approach may create monopolistic conditions for one platform. – LIGA.net.))

We are not afraid of competition. On the contrary, we believe that Ukraine needs a law that would define clear rules of the game. Each system should offer its own service, and the market will decide for itself who to trust.

About the most interesting and most expensive lots

– What is most often bought at auctions? And what, on the contrary, stays unsold for years?

The biggest competition is for cars and equipment. In terms of amounts, real estate holds the lead.

Regarding "stalled" lots, those that haven't been sold for years, we don't have any. A unit of property can only be put up for auction three times. If the property is not sold as part of enforcement proceedings, it can be transferred to the creditor. If they refuse, it is returned to the debtor. In the case of confiscated property accruing to the state, it can be transferred free of charge, for example, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, orphanages, or hospitals. If there is no need for it there either, the property is disposed of. For example, vehicles are simply cut up for scrap metal.

– What are they sending to the military?

We initiated a project for the systematic transfer of bank vehicles, seized vehicles, and other property to the Armed Forces from the beginning of martial law. We didn't wait for requests, but instead sent data about available property to military units ourselves. We prepared the vehicles for use: changed oil, wheels, etc. We urgently prepared documents to send the vehicle to the front as quickly as possible.

In total, the Ministry of Justice, together with SE "SETAM", the State Executive Service, and state financial institutions "PrivatBank" and "Oschadbank", have transferred more than 270 vehicles and tens of thousands of units of other property to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and law enforcement agencies since the beginning of martial law.

Among the donated property, in addition to cars, there are drones, laptops, phones, tablets, thermal imagers, optical sights, bulletproof vests, protective helmets, flashlights, and other items.

– Which cars are most often seized for debt?

There's no clear profile – any car found belonging to the debtor can be seized. If we're talking about what's most often bought, then Lada cars lead the way. They're an affordable car. After Lada, we have Volkswagen, Toyota, Renault, and BMW, if we take statistics from the beginning of the year.

"Were there any luxury cars at the auction?"

Yes, there were. For example, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Tesla – these are vehicles seized by court order. One red Ferrari was once sold to cover alimony payments. We currently have such cars in storage.

– What's the current situation with real estate? What types of properties are most frequently listed, and what do people buy most often – residential, land, or commercial properties?

We have a wide range: from factories and warehouses to apartments and summer houses. Residential real estate, especially apartments, sells best. In the first half of the year, we sold over 180 lots for 231 million hryvnias. Next are land plots (12 lots for 85 million hryvnias), and in third place is commercial real estate (eight lots for 20 million hryvnias).

"What are the strangest or most expensive lots that have been sold recently?"

Among the strangest items were five pairs of new socks confiscated in Zhytomyr region from a man accused of robbing a store window. There were also confiscated deputy badges, firewood, chainsaws, pieces of asphalt, fishing nets, wooden products, airplanes, and boats – all of this property was confiscated by court order.

The most expensive lots for the first half of 2025 are:

• oil for oil refineries worth 63 million UAH,

• oil in Lviv for 57 million UAH,

• the right to claim a loan from Ukreximbank in the amount of 36.3 million UAH.

Regarding seized property and delivery

– You mentioned selling a pair of socks. How do such things even end up at auction?

This is the result of a court decision. It could be an apartment or a pair of socks. The decision is the decision, and we are the final stage of enforcement. If the debtor does not pay voluntarily or the property is confiscated by court order, the property is sold.

– But don't such lots create an excessive load on the system?

We don't have the right to choose what to sell and what not to sell. The system works to execute court decisions. Even if it's a branch from the forest. Recently, we had a branch – about 20 centimeters long. In the photo, it's just lying in the forest. The starting price was 90 hryvnias, but it was sold for 1000 hryvnias. And there was a competitive process.

"– And how does the delivery happen? For example, if a branch is stored in Vinnytsia, but someone from Lviv bought it?"

If the property is in our storage, we can arrange delivery via Ukrposhta or Nova Poshta. The buyer pays and receives it the next day. It's like an online store.

Vehicles are different. There are showrooms in each region. People can come and see them. But there are also regular customers who simply call the branch manager: "You have a new car. What's its condition?" – and buy it without seeing it.

About changes in work and pilot projects

– You said that changes are coming to SETAM. What kind?

This will be a site layout change for the convenience of buyers. Seized and confiscated property will be highlighted in a separate section. We held meetings with legal entities, selected the first 100 companies, and received feedback from them: they want us to separate seized property from other assets to avoid unwanted associations.

And another important aspect is the social mission. When notifications about the free transfer of property arrive, they come one after another, and it is difficult to understand what is relevant.Messages received in the "SETAM" system may overlap. LIGA.net.) We want to bring order: to structure by categories, regions, take good photos, and ensure maximum publicity. The result is that less property will be disposed of.

We plan to ensure that institutions entitled to receive this property are informed. And I am sure that there will be not two or three applications, but a hundred, two hundred. Many institutions don't even know that they can receive this property.

– You mentioned a pilot project to collect customer stories. Tell us about it.

We want to find out what people do next with the property they have purchased. Perhaps they open cafes, furniture workshops, or start a business.

We are also working on modernizing the statistics module – to see everything in real time: how many lots have been sold, who the buyers are (individuals or legal entities), and from which regions. And most importantly, to make it public and open.