Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and the country’s negotiating delegation, asked FBI Director Kash Patel during a meeting not to provide assistance to investigators at Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) in the case of Timur Mindich, which is tied to a corruption scandal involving the state enterprise Energoatom, according to a Saturday, December 20 column by Inna Vedernikova, editor of domestic politics at Ukrainian outlet Zerkalo Nedeli, who cited unnamed sources.
Vedernikova wrote that the conversation between Umerov and Patel, which was also attended by Oleksandr Poklad, deputy head of Ukraine’s Security Service, “had nothing whatsoever to do with the negotiation track between Ukraine, the U.S., Russia and Europe.”
“This meeting was arranged through Umerov’s Turkish channels. And it wasn’t about negotiations at all. It was about the FBI’s desirable non-provision of expert, investigative or other professional assistance to NABU in the Mindich case (a longtime associate of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, who left the country a few hours before searches at his home),” Vedernikova wrote.
According to Vedernikova, the FBI chief “had a rough time” when the White House learned of the meeting’s content. “It’s interesting whether Umerov got the same treatment when this meeting became known in Kyiv?” she added.
On December 12, The Washington Post reported on closed-door meetings between Umerov and Patel, as well as Patel’s deputy Dan Bongino, citing four anonymous sources. “These meetings alarmed Western officials, who still do not know their intentions and goals,” the paper said.
Politicians weighed various theories about why the meetings were held, including obtaining assurances of amnesty in the event of any corruption charges and coordinating pressure on Ukrainian authorities to push Kyiv to accept a U.S.-proposed peace agreement.
An FBI spokesperson acknowledged that corruption was discussed during one of the conversations but said it was not the main topic. Overall, the spokesperson said, the meetings focused on the two countries’ shared interests in law enforcement and national security. Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, also said national security issues were discussed in the talks between the NSDC chief and the FBI director.
