Russia has opened the first known treason case in which payment of a mandatory tax to the Ukrainian budget became the basis for prosecution, Mediazona reported.
The defendant, 61-year-old businessman Oleg Varyukhin, had lived in Ukraine since 1999.
According to his lawyer, after Varyukhin returned to Russia, FSB officers gained access to his phone and found saved receipts showing payment of Ukraine’s mandatory military levy. Investigators treated the payments as assistance to a foreign state engaged in activity against Russia.
The defense also says Varyukhin is not a Russian citizen. That is legally significant because under the Russian Criminal Code, treason can be committed only by a Russian citizen.
Mediazona said this is the first known Russian treason case brought over the payment of Ukrainian taxes.