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The newly appointed Minister of Defense (Menhan) of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov. Photo/REUTERS
KIEV – Ukraine’s newly appointed Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, is being investigated by the country’s anti-corruption bureau for alleged crimes in his previous position.
The news was revealed by local media. In late August, the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) reportedly ordered the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to investigate complaints against Umerov and two of his former deputies at the State Owned Fund (FGIU), the agency he headed before taking over as defense minister earlier in the week. This.
The news was delivered on Wednesday (6/9/2023) by the outlet Comments.ua, which claims to have a copy of the court decision.
The FGIU leader is accused of abusing his power in dealings with Tsentrenergo, the only state-owned power generation company in Ukraine.
“The complaint alleges three officials covered up Tsentrenergo’s electricity sales below market prices and obstructed a proposed embezzlement investigation,” the Comments.ua report said.
VAKS, which has jurisdiction over corruption cases in Ukraine when the alleged damage exceeds a certain threshold, told the anti-corruption bureau that the complaints required an investigation, according to an excerpt from the decision.
A related story was reported Monday by news outlet Ukrainski Novini. It was reported that the national police were investigating the FGIU over its decision last month to fire an independent member of Tsentrenergo’s supervisory board.
A court in Kiev ruled the state fund acted unlawfully when it fired the two supervisors.
The controversy with the board was reportedly mentioned in the complaint, which VAKS cited in its decision to investigate Umerov and his subordinates.
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired a defense minister for corruption but did not launch an investigation and instead appointed another minister, who is being investigated for corruption,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Ukraine’s parliament appointed Umerov at Zelensky’s request on Wednesday with a majority vote.
The president announced the replacement of Aleksey Reznikov, the previous minister, last Sunday, saying the department needed a “new approach.”
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