The Satanist "Mag Veliar," who "performed a funeral service" for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, has been detained on fraud charges

Law enforcement authorities in Kyiv have charged Bogdan Orishchenko, a 27-year-old resident of the capital known in the media as “the magician Veliar,” with a crime. The esoteric practitioner is accused of fraud committed using computer technology (Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) by deceiving gullible citizens who found themselves in difficult life situations. This was reported by “Ukrainska Pravda.”

According to the investigation, the suspect capitalized on the popularity he gained through appearances on various television shows. One of the victims was the mother of a seven-year-old boy with a serious illness. The perpetrator convinced the woman of the need for paid “consultations” and “rituals,” as a result of which she transferred 60,000 hryvnias to him without receiving the promised healing.

The “magician’s” money-making scheme included not only private sessions but also the sale of dubious items: “golden buffalo” figurines for 9,000 hryvnias and “miracle candles” to remove curses for 1,300 hryvnias. To attract a new audience on social media, Orishchenko posted predictions about the course of the war and claimed that esotericists enjoy special privileges during wartime.

Law enforcement had previously taken an interest in the activities of Bohdan Orishchenko and his colleague, the “witch” Maria Tikhaya. In particular, People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak stated that these individuals were involved in fraud, exploiting the grief of relatives of missing servicemen under the pretext of “searching” for them.

As a reminder, we previously reported that a Satanist activist known as “Magus Veliar,” who picketed the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in 2023, was awarded the Order of “Pride and Glory of Ukraine” by Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament.