Fugitive businessman Tymur Mindich at one point offered $1
billion for a 50% stake in Ukrainian defense contractor Fire
Point, company co-owner and chief designer Denys Shtilierman told a parliamentary
committee on May 13.
A video of Shtilierman’s remarks was published by MP Oleksiy Goncharenko, head of the temporary investigative committee probing alleged defense procurement corruption.
Shtilierman said the sale to Mindich was rejected because a sovereign wealth fund from another country had offered $758 million for 30% of Fire Point.
He added that about a year and a half earlier Mindich had offered $100 million for a stake in the company, but as the business grew the offer later rose tenfold.
On April 30, Shtilierman strongly denied a report by
Ukrainska Pravda that suggested Fire Point had ties to Mindich, who by that
point has been charged with corruption and fled the country.
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