The Mindich and Umerov Tapes: Could the Businessman Have Ties to FirePoint?
The published recordings of alleged conversations between Timur Mindich and Rustem Umerov have sparked controversy due to speculation about the businessman’s ties to FirePoint. The company itself denies these allegations and has asked law enforcement to verify the authenticity of the recordings.
This is reported in an article by TSN.ua.
The publication “Ukrainska Pravda” published transcripts of some of the conversations that NABU detectives recorded as part of the “Midas” case in Mindich’s Kyiv apartment. These materials mention, in particular, former First Assistant to the President Serhiy Shefir, a woman named Natalia, who is linked to construction at the “Dynasty” cooperative, and Umerov.
According to journalists, Mindich and Umerov discussed government contracts for FirePoint, the company’s production of ballistic missiles, and the potential sale of a stake in the company to prospective investors.
“According to numerous investigations, one of the beneficiaries of this company (FirePoint—ed.) may be Timur Mindich himself. The company receives the largest contracts from the Ministry of Defense, the very same ministry headed by Umerov (who is now Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council—ed.). And now the businessman is complaining to the current defense minister that FirePoint is underfunded,” said UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach.
Tkach read excerpts from transcripts of conversations which, according to him, NABU detectives may have secretly recorded in Mindich’s apartment. The journalist noted that he received these materials from sources in political circles.
The released recordings include a fragment of a conversation, likely between Mindich and Umerov, on the morning of July 8, 2025. The businessman emphasizes the need for government contracts for FirePoint, using the terms “we” and “our,” which may indicate his possible involvement with the company.
“We’ve invested all our profits in the first, fifth, and seventh (this may refer to the FP-1 drone and the FP-5 and FP-7 missiles manufactured by Fire Point — ed.),” says a voice on the recordings that sounds like Mindich’s.
In response, Umerov, according to Tkach, expresses his willingness to assist in securing funding for the enterprise.
The conversation then turns to the production of ballistic missiles: the man believed to be Mindich states that the company is capable of manufacturing them in large quantities provided it receives adequate funding.
“How many ballistic missiles per year? Is it possible for next year (2026 — ed.)?” asks a voice resembling Umerov’s.
“We can make a thousand, 5,000 missiles… We can make 7,000 ballistic missiles, I think, per year… We need to invest 150 million in ballistic missiles, no question. If you’ve signed a contract, if you’ve given us the FP-1, then we’ll invest all that money,” replied a voice resembling Mindich’s.
The conversation also mentions the potential sale of 33% of Fire Point to investors from the United Arab Emirates for $600 million.
“We’re a real company; everything we said, we’ve done. That’s how they’re valuing the company. They want 33%… Yes, there’s already an offer. Out of the 33%, they want to invest 60% into the company and take 40%—maybe we can agree on 50%—to cash out,” said the man believed to be Mindich.
As Tkach noted, some of the recordings are difficult to make out—they contain unclear fragments and missing words, but the general meaning of the conversation is mostly clear from the context.
Denis Shilerman, a developer and co-owner of Fire Point, responded to the situation by stating on social media platform X that the new “Mindich tapes” are an attempt to discredit the company.
Stilerman’s statement emphasizes that the published information could damage the company’s reputation by linking it to individuals involved in the investigation. Fire Point also stresses that the dissemination of such materials without official charges from law enforcement complicates operations and affects the fulfillment of government contracts.
“This latest public smear campaign may be linked to the use of materials from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine’s pre-trial investigation in the aforementioned criminal proceedings. At the same time, such public discrediting, without official claims being made by law enforcement or regulatory authorities, has a very negative impact on the company’s reputation and on its ability to execute government contracts efficiently and promptly, and also deprives our company of the right to effective defense and comprehensive communication regarding such negative information,” Stilerman’s statement reads.
The statement also emphasizes that the figures cited in the publications are untrue, particularly regarding the amounts of funding.
“Specifically, the publication states that the company was allocated 311 billion UAH, which is completely untrue, since the revenue from sales of FIRE POINT LLC for 2025 amounted to 29,324 million UAH, which is more than 10 times less than what was stated in the publications. Information regarding our financial indicators is contained in the company’s official reports. Given this, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the information in question may have been fabricated or distorted, and an expert examination is necessary to confirm its authenticity,” the statement reads.
The company is calling on NABU to clarify whether the published records are part of the investigative materials and, if confirmed, to provide them for independent examination.
“To prevent manipulation and damage to the company’s reputation, we request that all available references to the company, its employees, or shareholders contained in the protocols or other evidence held by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine be published. I request that the owner of FIRE POINT LLC, D.L. Stilerman, be questioned as a witness in the aforementioned criminal proceedings in order to provide full, detailed answers to all possible questions,” adds Stilerman.
Incidentally, in November 2025, in an interview with Natalia Moseychuk, Stilerman denied reports of a business connection with Mindich. According to him, the businessman had been negotiating for a long time to purchase a stake in Fire Point, but was ultimately turned down.
“He (Mindich—ed.) tried to become a shareholder. We held negotiations; the negotiations lasted for some time. But no, he is not, and he has never been a shareholder. We have never given any money to anyone, including Mindich,” the designer stated.
“Interfax-Ukraine” reported on the reaction of Umerov’s press service to the “Mindich tapes.” They emphasized that “the authenticity, completeness, and relevance of any recordings or fragments must be established by law enforcement agencies, and the use of other sources may lead to the dissemination of unverified or inaccurate information.”
The NSDC secretary’s office also confirmed that during his tenure as defense minister, he maintained working contacts with business representatives and international partners regarding the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The business community regularly raises issues regarding payments, contracts, scaling up production, and the need for rapid financing,” the statement from Umerov’s press service notes.
Separately, the statement highlighted the activities of Fire Point, noting that the company manufactures drones that “have demonstrated their effectiveness on the front lines, particularly during long-range operations deep into Russia.”
