Kyiv prosecutors charge self-styled magician who held mock UOC funeral
Kyiv prosecutors have charged self-styled magician Veliar with defrauding parents of sick children and relatives of missing soldiers.
The Darnytskyi District Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv has charged 27-year-old Bohdan Onyshchenko, known as the magician Veliar (Belial), with fraud. He previously actively campaigned for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) outside the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Law enforcement officials classified his alleged actions as fraud involving computer technology, an offense punishable by up to eight years in prison.
In May 2025, the mother of a seven-year-old boy with a serious medical condition sought his help. Taking advantage of the woman's emotional distress, the suspect persuaded her to pay for a series of rituals and consultations. She transferred a total of 60,000 hryvnias to him, but the procedures produced no results.
According to law enforcement, the alleged fraudster preyed on parents of sick children and relatives of soldiers missing in action. He sold "miracle candles" supposedly capable of removing curses for 1,300 hryvnias and "golden buffalo" figurines for 9,000 hryvnias. He also held tarot card readings to predict developments in the war.
Onyshchenko himself claimed that "magicians and witches have a special power during wartime not merely to survive, but to live well."
Veliar has repeatedly participated in provocations against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Outside the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, he and a group of activists staged a mock funeral for the UOC using religious symbols.
As the UOJ previously reported, Veliar appeared as a witness for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the case against Viktoria Kokhanovska.
