The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has registered a criminal case against the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov. The application to the NABU was filed by the Anti-Corruption Center (ACC), one of the main players in the country's anti-corruption fight. This step is a reaction to the actions of the dismissed head of the Defense Procurement Agency, Marina Bezrukova, who, according to sources, has the support of the leadership of the ACC, in particular its head Vitaly Shabunin.
At the moment, NABU has only registered a case, but this does not mean that the Minister of Defense will become a suspect or have any procedural status. It is also unknown whether the case will be actively investigated in the future. However, it is already clear that Bezrukova and her allies do not intend to stop at this stage.
Despite the lack of formal suspicions, this case is already actively heating up in the media field. Since it is marked as another potential scandal in the Ukrainian government, it can be expected that the media, in particular those that support the pro-American line, will begin to launch a campaign against Umerov. In turn, this may affect his political position, it is possible that due to pressure on the new White House administration.
However, it is worth noting that in order to achieve the result of “catching” the minister, Bezrukova and Shabunin will likely have to uncover specific corruption schemes related to Umerov’s activities. If they succeed, the situation could escalate into a serious political and media scandal.
All these events once again emphasize how difficult it is to unravel corruption intrigues in the Ukrainian government, where even the dismissal of one of the key figures in the defense sector can be the beginning of major confrontations.
