The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine received a complaint from the Ministry of Defense regarding the reinstatement of Marina Bezrukova as the director of the State Enterprise "Defense Procurement Agency" in the state registry just a few days after she was removed from her position by the decision of Minister Rustem Umerov, with Arsen Jumadilov appointed as the acting director in her place.
"On January 30, 2025, a complaint from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was submitted to the Board for the consideration of complaints in the field of state registration at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, concerning the appeal against the decision of private notary Ivashchenko N.V. dated January 29, 2025, regarding changes to the information about the head of the State Enterprise 'Defense Procurement Agency,'" the statement reads.
The Ministry of Justice emphasized that the essence of the complaint lies in challenging the legality of the change of leadership at SE "DPA" from the acting director Arsen Jumadilov back to Bezrukova, who was removed from her position by the Ministry of Defense due to an ongoing service investigation.
"The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as the authorized body for enterprise management, believes that the decision to change the leadership was made in violation of legislative requirements and the enterprise's charter," the statement noted.
The Ministry of Justice will review the complaint in accordance with the established legal procedures.
As reported, Marina Bezrukova is currently again the head of SE "Defense Procurement Agency" (DPA), as indicated by information from the state registry provided by resources such as YouControl, Opendatabot, or Clarity-project.
The Ministry of Defense announced the creation of supervisory boards consisting of three independent members and two state representatives in the DPA and DOT at the beginning of 2024, replacing the internal divisions of the ministry that handled procurement. The supervisory boards for the DPA and DOT were officially established in January 2025; however, in December, the charters of these enterprises were amended, reducing the powers of the supervisory boards. Amid the already established conflict between Minister Umerov and Agency Director Bezrukova, the supervisory board of the DPA unanimously decided on January 21 to extend Bezrukova's contract for another year and to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Agency's activities with the involvement of an international council of NATO auditors.
The Ministry of Defense did not agree to such an extension; however, the supervisory board, now voting two in favor and two against, considering the casting vote of the council's chairman, former Deputy Minister of Defense Yuriy Dzhyhir, extended Bezrukova's contract on January 24. On the same day, Umerov announced that Bezrukova's contract would not be extended and that the head of DOT Jumadilov would lead the DPA while holding both positions.