Svyrydenko stated that she does not know Mindich and has never been to his apartment
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has stated that she has no connection whatsoever to businessman Timur Mindich.
She made this statement in the Verkhovna Rada.
Responding to a question from MP Oleksiy Goncharenko, Svyrydenko briefly said, “I don’t know him. I never have,” when asked about possible contacts with the sanctioned businessman.
This relates to a corruption case at Energoatom, which is being investigated by NABU and involves recordings of conversations from Mindich’s apartment.
MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, commenting on the situation, noted that Svyrydenko is not mentioned in the released recordings and does not appear in a negative context.
Previously, recordings of conversations made as part of the investigation were released, featuring, in particular, Serhiy Shefir and Rustem Umerov.
As a reminder, 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.
