Law enforcement officers in Kyiv have served a notice of suspicion to a 27-year-old man who posed online as a magus and offered paid "rituals" to cure illnesses. According to the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office and the Kyiv Police, the suspect is Bohdan Orishchenko, known under the pseudonym "Magus Veliar." He is charged with fraud involving the use of electronic computing equipment.
How events unfolded
According to the investigation, in May 2025, the mother of a seven-year-old boy with special needs approached the man. The child has a severe diagnosis and behavioral disorders which, according to specialists, require correctional support rather than "magical" treatment. The suspect promised to help the child through paid consultations and remote "rituals." The woman transferred a total of 60,000 hryvnias to him, but the promised help produced no results. The investigation believes the man took advantage of the mother's vulnerable psychological state and embezzled her funds.
The "magus's" online business
According to law enforcement, the suspect created pages on various internet platforms and offered esoteric services there, including "healing" from illnesses. In addition to consultations and "magic" marathons, he earned money by selling special paraphernalia. In particular, the man offered "golden buffalo" figurines, allegedly helping millionaires, for 9,000 hryvnias, as well as candles to remove "spells" for 1,300 hryvnias each. To attract more subscribers, he published card readings against the backdrop of the war; among his predictions was a statement that Kyiv residents would be transported from the right bank to the left by barges.
The article of the law and possible punishment
The man was served a notice of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — fraud committed using electronic computing equipment. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to eight years. The prosecutor's office noted that the suspect became known due to his participation in television shows. Law enforcement officers do not mention his name in official statements, but the man can be recognized in published photos and videos.
Context: similar cases in Kyiv
The police ask people who may have suffered from promises of healing or other "magical" help to contact the Darnytskyi Police Department. Earlier in the capital, three women were exposed who posed as "hereditary clairvoyants" and swindled the wives of fallen and missing military personnel: the fraudsters promised the return of their husbands, demanded money for rituals, and threatened them with misfortunes happening to their children if they had doubts. The total amount of damage in that case exceeded 1.4 million hryvnias.
Please note that according to the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict.
