Mindichgate: Umerov and Mindich discussed the ambassador to the U.S. for liaising with Trump
Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of parliament from the “European Solidarity” party, has released new excerpts from conversations between businessman Timur Mindich and Oleksandr Tsukerman, as well as current NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov, who are implicated in the NABU and SAPO case opened following Operation Midas. Together, the interlocutors discussed who would be the best candidate for the position of Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. so that he would be well-liked by President Donald Trump.
The new recordings were also released by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak on his YouTube channel.
Zheleznyak noted that these documents were provided by sources from the defense side, so there are currently no doubts regarding their origin.
The recorded conversation took place on July 8, 2025—before the government reshuffle on July 17 and the events of July 22 involving pressure on anti-corruption agencies.
At that time, Rustem Umerov held the position of Minister of Defense, but discussions about his possible appointment as ambassador were already underway. At the same time, speculation arose that Oksana Markarova might step down from her post as Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S.
In a conversation with Umerov, sanctioned businessman Timur Mindich noted that the political influence of candidates for this position is of great importance.
Umerov, in turn, noted that this issue had been discussed with “Grandpa,” likely alluding to Donald Trump’s conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Mindich suggested that Umerov consider the candidacy of Svitlana Hrynchuk, who at the time held the position of Minister of Ecology, to which the then-Minister of Defense replied that he knew her.
“Grynchuk would be better for Grandpa,” Mindich stated, adding that he was referring to the minister with curly red hair.
After that, the businessman reminded Umerov that Herman Galushchenko, Ukraine’s former Minister of Energy, was also considering the position for himself. In conversations, he is referred to as “Sigismund.”
According to Mindich, “Sigismund” already wants to go somewhere and become an ambassador.
Law enforcement officials promise to release more details of the investigation in the future, Zheleznyak added.
In the same conversation, Mindich and Umerov discussed Svyrydenko’s candidacy for the post of Prime Minister of Ukraine.
We previously reported that on July 8, 2025, then-Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and sanctioned businessman Timur Mindich discussed personnel matters and political influence in the country. Specifically, they discussed who would become the new defense minister and what new position then-Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal would assume.
Recall that six months ago, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported the exposure of large-scale embezzlement in the energy sector following Operation “Midas.” The case was dubbed “Mindichgate” because audio recordings from wiretaps in the apartment of the organizer of this corruption scheme—Timur Mindich, a businessman and close friend of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—were made public.
This new disclosure by UP could significantly expand the circle of suspects and the embezzlement schemes linked to them. In particular, the recorded conversations may involve the former head of the Ministry of Defense and current Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov.
Timur Mindich remains abroad, while in Kyiv, the business of his wife, Kateryna Verber—founder of Kameron, a company operating offline and online stores that are official distributors of the Dolce & Gabbana, Saint Laurent, and Balmain brands—continues to operate. There is also a Russian connection here: Kateryna Verber is the daughter of the recently deceased fashion director of Moscow’s TSUM, Alla Verber.
Information has also emerged regarding possible “shady dealings” involving Timur Mindich and the ultimate beneficiaries of one of Ukraine’s largest pharmaceutical groups, Farmastor LLC. The company is the parent holding company (founder) of a dozen other enterprises with very substantial turnover: “Apteka Dobrogo Dnya” LLC, “Zirka Farmatsevtiki” LLC, and others. The key owner is Ihor Chervonenko, whose brother, Yevhen Chervonenko, has been included on the National Security and Defense Council’s sanctions lists. The brothers had the opportunity to meet with Mindich and, according to some reports, secured a reduction in law enforcement pressure on their business in exchange for transferring a stake in their pharmaceutical business.
