Mindich was taken into custody in absentia

The High Anti-Corruption Court in absentia imposed custody on a suspect in the framework of Operation Midas Timur Mindich. About reports Suspilne.

The meeting was held without the participation of the defendant in the corruption case at the state-owned enterprise Energoatomas Mindich managed to leave Ukraine before receiving a suspicion.

The state appointed a lawyer for the businessman, as it was not possible to contact the suspect. Bail was not granted as an alternative to detention, as this is not possible in a trial in absentia.

The court session was closed for 15 minutes due to the consideration of evidence that could threaten national security.

According to the prosecutors, after the election of a preventive measure for Mindich, the case will be transferred to Interpol for the detention of the defendant, in particular, when crossing the border.

The participants of the meeting said that the suspect's whereabouts were unknown. When asked to clarify that Mindich could be in Israel, the prosecutor said that the situation depends on the country's legislation and its cooperation with Interpol.

Also during the hearing, the prosecutor reiterated that, according to the investigation, Mindic put pressure on the then minister of defense Rustem Umerov regarding the procurement of low-quality bulletproof vests.

In November, Umerov, who currently serves as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was appointed to the post, denied information about the businessman's influence on himself. The official is a witness in the case and gave testimony to National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Also, at the hearing to choose a measure of restraint for Mindich, the prosecutor said that the businessman had conversations with another suspect in the case, Oleksandr Tsukerman, and that they used noise suppressants during the conversations.

• Mindich is the co-founder of Kvartal 95, a former business partner and friend of president Zelensky.
• In late November, another person involved in the Mindich tapes, former Energoatom security director Fursenko, was released from jail on UAH 95 million bail. The investigation claims that this suspect is identified on the wiretap as Ryoshyk, who, in particular, complained that carrying $1.6 million is "a bit of a pleasure".