The advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoliak, stated that the dismissal of the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umierov, or the adoption of other radical decisions due to the publication of the so-called ‘Mindycha tapes’ in the media is not planned. According to him, the authenticity of these recordings raises serious doubts, and a hasty reaction without a court decision is considered interference in the activities of law enforcement agencies.
This is reported by Finway
The President’s Office’s attitude towards the scandal surrounding the ‘Mindycha tapes’
During a telethon, Mykhailo Podoliak was asked whether Rustem Umierov could lose his position due to the mentioned audio recordings. Podoliak emphasized that there is no basis for such actions, as Umierov has already provided a full response to the accusations and expressed a desire to clarify the authenticity of the materials. The advisor to the head of the Office of the President added that a decision based on the published transcripts would be illogical for the entire system of state governance.
“If we are to make a fundamental decision based on the publication of ‘transcripts’, as you say, that would be a bit strange for the governance system, that’s the first point. And secondly, Umierov has provided a detailed response to the accusations that exist. He wants to clarify the authenticity of this transcript, etc.,” emphasized the advisor to the head of the Office of the President.
According to Podoliak, Umierov is interested in clarifying how the audio recordings became publicly available, whether they are genuine, and whether certain phrases were taken out of context. At the same time, in the advisor’s opinion, Rustem Umierov remains an effective negotiator with countries in the Middle East and the USA, and the scandal does not affect his positions in the negotiation processes.
Details of the case: what the ‘Mindycha tapes’ contain
On April 29, recordings from the apartment of businessman Timur Mindycha appeared in the media. The conversations mentioned issues related to the activities of the defense company Fire Point, state contracts, and possible funding for missile programs. The materials also discuss potential connections between Mindycha and Fire Point, as well as issues of cooperation with state structures and the distribution of funds for weapon development.
After the publication, Fire Point appealed to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau requesting verification of the authenticity of the ‘Mindycha tapes’, which mention their enterprise. On May 1, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak published another part of the recordings, where, according to him, a conversation between Timur Mindycha and the current Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umierov was recorded. They particularly discussed the ‘Project 23’.
On the same day, ‘Ukrainska Pravda’ published the second series of transcripts, in which, according to journalists, the subjects of the ‘Midas’ case discussed the composition of the supervisory board of the state-owned ‘Sens Bank’ even before the official decision of the Cabinet of Ministers. The possible influence of private individuals on the ‘Karpatnaftokhim’ plant was also mentioned.
Subsequently, Mindycha’s lawyer Andriy Kostenok stated that the defense could not confirm the authenticity of the recordings, as these audio files and transcripts were not provided officially or unofficially within the framework of the criminal proceedings. Thus, the defense had no opportunity to verify them.
On May 8, the media released the third part of the ‘Mindycha tapes’, which discusses the escape from Ukraine of the two main figures in the case — Timur Mindycha and Oleksandr Tsukerman. It is likely that they were assisted by the former deputy head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Andriy Synyuk.