Moscow Court Upholds Visiting Businessman’s Treason Arrest Over Ukrainian Tax Payments, Mediazona Reports

In a recent decision, a Moscow judge has maintained the pre-trial detention of Oleg Varyukhin, a 60-year-old businessman, who is accused of treason for paying taxes in Ukraine. Varyukhin, a former pilot who operated a perfume business in Ukraine, was apprehended in early May as he visited relatives in Moscow from Moldova. Russian authorities claim that Varyukhin committed treason by transferring his earnings into the Ukrainian state budget as an individual entrepreneur.

His defense attorney, Yury Shel, argued that every worker has a duty to pay taxes and that Varyukhin had no control over how the government utilized those tax revenues. Shel further noted that Varyukhin had never obtained Russian or Ukrainian passports after the Soviet Union's dissolution and had obtained a Ukrainian business license in 2014.

Prior to this treason charge, Varyukhin faced repeated arrests on disorderly conduct charges between May and July, serving four consecutive 15-day jail terms before his current pre-trial detention. The Moscow City Court upheld Varyukhin's pre-trial detention on state treason charges, which could potentially result in life imprisonment.

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