MP Initiated Investigation Regarding Magician Veliar Who "Performed a Funeral Service for the UOC"
Zheleznyak stated that he is handing over to law enforcement materials regarding possible fraud and tax evasion by the sorcerer Veliar, who had been staging blasphemous acts near the walls of the Lavra.
People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced the transfer of materials to the National Police and the Bureau of Economic Security regarding individuals who call themselves sorcerers, among whom is Bohdan Orishchenko (known as Mage Veliar), who had previously been actively campaigning for the OCU near the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Zheleznyak wrote about this in his Telegram channel.
"We conducted an investigation into two well-known 'mouthpieces' of Bankova — the 'witch' Maria Tykha and Mage Veliar. These are Maria Arefeva and Bohdan Orishchenko. You already know them as 'stars' of political esotericism through Bankova's 'talking points.' But it appears that 'magic' has also turned into what is likely a fraudulent means of earning millions on ordinary people's problems. In the correspondence of dozens of deceived clients — there are receipts for thousands of dollars for 'curse removal,' profiting from relatives of missing persons, 'treating' children with rituals," — the deputy commented on his video report.
In particular, Zheleznyak drew attention to the fact that in one of his interviews Veliar spoke of earnings at the level of 50–100 thousand dollars per month, while, according to data published by the deputy, the official figures appeared significantly lower.
According to the deputy, "these are already real matters that may constitute criminal offenses of fraud and tax evasion."
"Why the math doesn't add up is no longer a question for tarot, but for the Bureau of Economic Security," the deputy wrote. He also emphasized that, in his opinion, this story is no longer about exotica but about possible criminal offenses: "When we are talking about probable millions earned on human suffering, magic ends and legal responsibility begins."
The Union of Orthodox Journalists previously reported that the man who calls himself Mage Veliar, together with activists, staged a blasphemous mock 'funeral service for the UOC' beneath the walls of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, using Church symbolism in a derisive manner. The UOJ later also reported that Veliar appeared as a witness for the SBU in the case of Viktoria Kokhanovska.
