Corruptioner Mindich labels accusations "manipulations" and refuses to return to Ukraine from Israel

Businessman Tymur Mindich, who is suspected of corruption in the energy sector and has been placed under sanctions, has said in an interview with an Ukrainska Pravda journalist that he has no intention of returning to Ukraine and considers the investigation against him to be "manipulations".

Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, who tracked Mindich down in Israel and spoke with him, said that the conversation made it clear the businessman is not prepared to return from Israel to Ukraine or to give testimony.

"If we summarise it, Mr Mindich is not ready to return [to Ukraine – ed.]. He will remain in Israel, just like another figure in this case. Having Israeli citizenship is very convenient," the journalist said.

During the conversation with the Ukrainska Pravda journalist, Mindich also described the accusations against him as "manipulations".

"At the beginning of the year, we found [Denys] Komarnytskyi [former member of Kyiv City Council who is suspected of land-related schemes – ed.], who had unexpectedly fled and was being sought in Ukraine… in the end, Mr Mindich is saying almost the same things and pretending that these [accusations against him] are manipulations," Tkach said.

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Background:

• On the morning of 10 November, it emerged that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) was carrying out searches involving businessman Tymur Mindich and the then Minister of Justice, Herman Halushchenko. On the same day, Ukrainska Pravda sources reported that Mindich had fled abroad several hours before the searches began.
• Later that day, NABU announced that it had uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme involving the embezzlement of funds in the energy sector and released audio recordings of conversations between the suspects in the case.
• On 11 November, journalists identified the names of all individuals implicated in the large-scale corruption investigation at Energoatom who had been served with a notice of suspicion from NABU. According to the Skhemy investigative project, the suspects include Tymur Mindich [referred to as "Karlsson" in the audio recordings released by NABU – ed.], former adviser to the Minister of Energy Ihor Myroniuk ("Rocket"), Energoatom's Executive Director for Security Dmytro Basov ("Tenor"), Oleksandr Tsukerman ("Sugarman"), Ihor Fursenko ("Roshyk"), Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina.

• Five of the suspects have been detained. Mindich and Tsukerman have left Ukraine.
• On 12 November, TV production company Studio Kvartal-95, in response to the notice of suspicion issued to businessman and studio co-owner Tymur Mindich by NABU, stressed that he does not take part in the studio's activities and does not influence its content.
• On 13 November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted a decision by the National Security and Defence Council imposing sanctions on Mindich and businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman.
• On 22 November, Ukraine had put Tymur Mindich and Oleksandr Tsukerman, suspects in the Midas case, on its wanted list over alleged corruption offences.

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