Fire Point company on mention in new "Mindich tapes": "This is blatant lie, NABU must confirm authenticity"
Fire Point co-owner Denys Shtilerman has reacted to the media publication of the new "Mindich tapes" and called it "another information attack." He appealed to the NABU with a request to confirm the authenticity of the "tapes."
Shtilerman published the text of the appeal on the X social network, Censor.NET reports.
Company on reputational risks
The statement says that the recent investigation by Ukrainska Pravda, which alleges that Timur Mindich, a figure in the "Midas" case, mentions Fire Point, may create associations between the company and "persons against whom criminal proceedings are being conducted."
"Such dissemination of false information regarding the activities of FIRE POINT LLC, as one of the largest defense companies in Ukraine, causes extremely negative consequences both for the company and for the defense capability of the state as a whole, especially considering that this information is not properly confirmed and has a manipulative nature," the company writes.
The company argues that the information is "false," as it contains "clearly inflated amounts of cash receipts to our company, which are discussed by the participants in the recordings." In particular, the "tapes" say that Fire Point received 311 billion hryvnias, while the entire income for 2025, they claim, was more than 10 times less and amounted to only 29,324 million hryvnias, which is indicated in the official reporting.
"Given this, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the specified information could have been edited or distorted, and to confirm its authenticity, it is necessary to conduct an expert study," the statement adds.
The company called itself a leading developer of Ukrainian weaponry, among which are the most common and effective, and also recalled that Fire Point is "the first Ukrainian developer that was able to create its own cruise and ballistic missiles in a very short time."
Appeal to the NABU
Fire Point considers the "Mindich tapes" to be "another public discreditation" and points out that there have been no official claims from law enforcement agencies against them.
- The company emphasised that Mindich "is not and has never been the owner, ultimate beneficial owner of our company," and any of his possible activities regarding Fire Point "are exclusively the initiative and responsibility of those persons who may feature on the recordings."
- Therefore, the company asks the NABU to confirm that the materials of the "Midas" case contain evidence whose content corresponds to the conversations published by Ukrainska Pravda, and if so, to provide this evidence for study and expert examinations.
They also ask to answer whether the NABU disseminated the information set out in the investigation, and whether it granted permission for its disclosure. If there was no such permission, Fire Point asks whether information about the disclosure of pre-trial investigation data without permission was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations.
"Also, in order to prevent manipulations and damage to the company's reputation, we ask to publish all available mentions of the company, its employees, or shareholders contained in the protocols or other evidence at the disposal of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. I ask to interrogate the owner of FIRE POINT LLC, D.L. Shtilerman, as a witness in the specified criminal proceeding in order to provide full, detailed answers to all possible questions," the statement added.
Background
- On April 29, the media released the new "Mindich tapes," which record conversations of Timur Mindich with former presidential advisor Serhii Shefir and former Defense Minister, NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov, in particular about the financing of Fire Point.
- The Anti-Corruption Council under the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stated that the company may lose the opportunity to supply weapons to the Ukrainian army. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked to initiate the process of partial nationalization of Fire Point to continue supplying its products to the Defense Forces.
