National Anti-Corruption Bureau confirms questioning of senior national security official, stresses he "is not suspect"
Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), has confirmed that Rustem Umierov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC), was questioned in connection with the high-profile Midas case, in which Tymur Mindich, a friend of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is implicated.
Source: Kryvonos at the UP100 awards ceremony
Quote: "[Umierov] has indeed been questioned… I cannot disclose his procedural status. I can only say that he is currently neither a suspect nor an accused. I will refrain from further comment, as this could harm the pre-trial investigation."
Read also: Could this be "Mindichgate"? A closer look at that friend of the president's
Background:
- Before this, the National Security and Defence Council reported that Umierov had been interviewed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau as a witness in a case concerning a back office for money laundering, which is believed to have been organised by Tymur Mindich.
- Mindich is alleged to have exerted influence over former energy minister Herman Halushchenko and former defence minister Rustem Umierov. The allegation was made by the prosecution during the hearing of a petition brought by a NABU detective seeking the detention of Ihor Myroniuk, another suspect in the investigation into corruption at Energoatom.
- Umierov has stated that no one influenced him during his time as defence minister. He acknowledged that he met with Mindich regarding a body armour contract, but the contract was terminated because the goods did not meet the required standards.
Read also: Mindichgate: one week on from the corruption scandal, what's going on in the government?
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