Mindich linked to Fire Point, firm may lose right to supply AFU – Defense Ministry's Anti-Corruption Council
Sanctioned businessman Timur Mindich has turned out to be the sole or one of the beneficiaries of defense industry company Fire Point, as a result of which the latter may lose the ability to supply its products to the Defense Forces, the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has said, citing data from anti-corruption agencies.
"The materials available to anti-corruption agencies indicate that former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, now secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, considers Timur Mindich to be the actual owner of Fire Point. All the data clearly indicate that Timur Mindich is indeed either one of the company’s beneficiaries or its only real beneficiary. Once this fact is legally confirmed, for example by a court decision, Fire Point will completely lose the ability to supply its products to the Defense Forces of Ukraine because Timur Mindich is on sanctions lists," the Public Anti-Corruption Council said in a statement on the Midas case, published on Wednesday.
In addition, due to the submission of knowingly false data on Fire Point’s beneficiaries, the company "should receive a fine and acquire the status of a risky supplier," the Anti-Corruption Council said.
Based on the above, the Public Anti-Corruption Council calls for Umerov to be immediately suspended from the post of NSDC secretary, for Zelenskyy to initiate the process of partial nationalization of Fire Point in order to continue uninterrupted supplies of products to the front without enriching persons involved in corruption abuses, and for the Defense Ministry to set up a working group with representatives of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, branches and services using Fire Point products, as well as anti-corruption and investigative bodies, to audit the company’s contracts and pricing and minimize harmful consequences for Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
"We have a complex, multilayered problem. De jure, the sanctioned businessman still has no relation to the company in question and theoretically may remain in this status for many years while courts and appeals continue. De facto, the whole of society has become convinced of the links between Mindich and Fire Point. And this will become entrenched in the minds of both Ukrainians and international partners. The state must now choose the least harmful strategy for the Defense Forces of Ukraine, which actively use Fire Point products," the statement reads.
The Public Anti-Corruption Council interprets Umerov’s actions as showing signs of abuse of power under Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, concerning the promotion of Mindich’s interests in the cases involving "Israeli bulletproof vests" and Fire Point, and disclosure of a state secret by a person to whom it was entrusted or became known in the course of service under Article 328. Mindich’s actions are interpreted as showing signs of abuse of influence under Article 369-2 and incitement to misuse of funds under Part 4 of Article 27 and Article 210.
As reported, Ukrainska Pravda published fragments of conversations between Mindich and former first assistant to the president Serhiy Shefir, as well as former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, documented by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office as part of Operation Midas.
