The scandal around the AOZ is gaining momentum: The Ministry of Defense appealed to the Ministry of Justice
31 January 07:33
The Ministry of Defense has filed an official complaint with the Ministry of Justice, demanding the cancellation of the changes made to the leadership of the Defense Procurement Agency in the state register. The agency insists on returning the information about Arsen Zhumadilov as the interim head. This became known from a message on the website of the Ministry of Justice, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The application was submitted on January 30 to the State Registration Complaints Board.
“On January 30, 2025, the State Registration Complaints Board of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine received a complaint from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to appeal the decision of private notary Ivashchenko N.V. of 29.01.2025 to amend the information about the head of the State Enterprise “Defense Procurement Agency”, the statement said.
According to the Ministry of Defense, on January 29, a private notary made changes to the register without legal grounds, as a result of which Maryna Bezrukova was again listed as the head of the Defense Procurement Agency instead of Zhumadilov. At the same time, she was removed from her position by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov for the duration of the internal investigation.
“The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as the authorized management body of the enterprise, believes that the decision to change the head was made in violation of the requirements of the law and the company’s charter,” the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.
The Ministry noted that the complaint will be considered in accordance with the procedure established by law.

What happened before?
Vitaliy Shabunin, chairman of the board of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, said that on January 25, a day after the Defense Minister’s decision not to renew Bezrukova’s contract, Arsen Zhumadilov’s name appeared in the state register as the head of the Defense Plant.
After a public outcry, Zhumadilov’s status was changed to acting head for the period of Bezrukova’s suspension.
However, on January 29, his name disappeared from the register again, and Bezrukova was returned to the “Head” column.
Against this background, representatives of the Healthcare Agency emphasized that as of February 1, 2024, Maryna Bezrukova is the current director of the agency, and her powers remain in force.
“These powers have not been terminated and were extended by an additional agreement signed by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the PJSC on January 23, 2025. In this regard, the necessary documents were submitted to the state registrar, and the data in the Unified State Register were brought in line with the actual circumstances,” the Healthcare Agency emphasized.

It should be noted that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has launched a pre-trial investigation against Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. He is suspected of abuse of power.
Earlier, the AntAC itself announced the registration of the proceedings. This happened after Umerov announced on January 24 that he had decided not to extend the contract with the director of the Defense Procurement Agency, Maryna Bezrukova, for another year.
The AntAC noted that the head of the Defense Ministry “refused to comply with the decision of the Supervisory Board of the Defense Procurement Agency, contrary to the law.” Umerov also dismissed two members of the Supervisory Board, Taras Chmut and Yuriy Dzhyhyr.
The scandal of the Defense Ministry and the Defense Procurement Agency
on January 24, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that the Defense Ministry would not extend the contract with the director of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA), Maryna Bezrukova, whose contract was extended by the Supervisory Board of the DPA for another year on January 24.
Arsen Zhumadilov, the current head of the DOT, has already agreed to head the agency. In addition, two representatives of the state, Yuriy Dzhyhyr and Taras Chmut, are to be recalled from the Supervisory Board.
In her turn, Bezrukova said she would remain the head of the Healthcare Agency. She was shocked by the Defense Minister’s statement about the non-renewal of her contract. According to her, “it looks like an attempt to rape all the reforms that were announced and promised to the public.”
Prior to that, the Supervisory Board of the Healthcare Agency approved the extension of Maryna Bezrukova’s contract for another year. According to the agency, no additional approval from the Defense Ministry is required.
The volume of procurement by the Defense Ministry is about UAH 300 billion a year, while the State Defense Enterprise’s procurement volume is about UAH 100 billion.