Police probing former Zelenskyy advisor Arestovych over false crime report

A criminal case has been opened against former freelance advisor to the Presidential Office Oleksiy Arestovych following an appeal from a group of MPs, the National Police press service told NV on Nov. 16.

The Kyiv police received a complaint from a group of lawmakers alleging that Arestovych may have committed a criminal offense by knowingly filing a false report of a crime. He had appealed to the State Bureau of Investigation with an accusation of criminal wrongdoing against MP Nataliya Pipa.

Read also: Arestovych aims to grab remnants of pro-Russian electorate — former Ukrainian official

Investigators opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (knowingly making a false report of a criminal offense).

Earlier, Nataliya Pipa reported on the opening of the case against Arestovych on Facebook.

In October, 29 MPs filed a police complaint against Arestovych after the June scandal with a young man who sang late Russian rock idol Viktor Tsoi's songs on the streets of Lviv. Nataliya Pipa reprimanded the young man, who responded by insulting her, and the lawmaker called the police.

Read also: Ex-presidential advisor Arestovych put on Russian list of “terrorists”

The young man later recorded a video apologizing. On July 27, the Halytskyi District Court of Lviv found him guilty of an administrative violation (for swearing at Pipa) and issued a warning.

In August, Arestovych filed a complaint with the State Bureau of Investigation about "incitement to national hatred and enmity on the basis of language" by MP Nataliya Pipa over the incident in Lviv. On his social media accounts, Arestovych wrote that the parliamentarian "actually took advantage of her official position and committed something resembling the abuse of a minor."

In a statement on Oct. 24, which was supported by 28 of her colleagues, the MP wrote that "Oleksiy Arestovych is engaged exclusively in self-promotion and hype on the topic of alleged harassment of 'Russian-speaking Ukrainians'."

In September 2018, the Lviv Oblast Council banned the public use of Russian-language cultural products, and the Supreme Court ruled the decision legal. In June 2022, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law banning the public use of music from Russia.

In October, law enforcement officials launched an investigation into Arestovych's remarks at one of his seminars where he said he "wanted to strangle women." After the scandal, Arestovych claimed that his words were "taken out of context."

Read also: Could Arestovych simply be a technical candidate for Zelenskyy in future election?

In November, Arestovych announced that he was going to run in the next presidential election. In an interview with the Russian media outlet Meduza, he confirmed that he was abroad and said that he might "have to be an opposition politician in exile."

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