Mindych grew a gray beard and said he is ready to come to Ukraine and go to prison if his bail is reduced

Businessman Timur Mindich, described as a friend of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a corruption suspect who has left for Israel, said he is ready to cooperate with a parliamentary commission investigating corruption.

He said this in a video call with MP Oleksii Honcharenko (European Solidarity faction), who published a recording of their conversation on his Telegram channel.

In the conversation, Mindich said he is willing to speak at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission on violations in the defense sphere and anti-corruption legislation, and that he would even be ready to come to Ukraine if the High Anti-Corruption Court set a moderate bail for his release from pre-trial detention.

“I would come to Ukraine today, receive a notice of suspicion, and even go to prison if the bail were fair. I just understand that they will now set bail at such a level that I won’t be able to raise it,” Mindich said.

According to him, he has things to tell parliament.

Mindich said he supports the investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) but denies the accusations against him.

“It interests me, because I also have things I would like to tell you. I support what NABU is doing. If there are questions—please. I’m a friend of the president, and that’s the only thing that draws heightened interest to me. I’m not against checking the facts. But I’m against accusations before trial and before the investigation—what journalists, you, and others are doing now,” Mindich said.

He assured that he “has nothing to do with this story,” but that he is “forced” to be in Israel, which he says he traveled to as planned—not to flee the investigation—because Ukraine does not have fair justice.

Mindich also said that NABU has still not questioned him, and that the High Anti-Corruption Court is refusing to allow him to participate in hearings online.

He also approved of the president imposing sanctions on him: “The fact that he’s my friend doesn’t mean sanctions can’t be imposed on me. As president, he may have acted correctly. And if it’s true (NABU’s allegations), then such friends aren’t needed—he’s right too.”

Mindich also confirmed that he discussed supplying body armor with Rustem Umerov, but said he wanted to “help,” not profit. He said a company owned by an acquaintance offered body armor more cheaply, but due to “internal corruption” it was not allowed to supply it.

It is also noted that Mindich has changed his appearance by growing a thick gray beard.

Earlier, he said he had been made a scapegoat in a high-profile corruption case in the energy and defense sectors.

Separately, it was reported that police are looking for former head of the Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development Mustafa Nayyem to invite him to a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s temporary investigative commission on corruption.