An MP said that NSDC Secretary Umerov could face suspicion charges from law enforcement

The Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Rustem Umerov, may face a formal notice of suspicion from law enforcement.

That is the view of Vadym Ivchenko, a member of parliament from the Batkivshchyna party.

“At the moment there is no acceleration of the process because there is a war, and he is part of the negotiating group. I think that after the war many processes will speed up and be brought to an end,” the lawmaker said.

Umerov’s name previously appeared in a case involving businessman Timur Mindich, who is described as close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner circle. The document explicitly stated that Mindich carried out “criminal activity” with Umerov’s assistance when Umerov was serving as minister of defense: Mindich’s companies were receiving and spending Defense Ministry funds.

Umerov himself denied that any other individuals influenced his work at the Ministry of Defense.

As media reports have said, in November Umerov was questioned by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) as a witness in the Mindich case.

In addition, Oleksii Honcharenko, a lawmaker from the European Solidarity party, said that NABU had prepared a notice of suspicion for Rustem Umerov on allegations of embezzling budget funds.