Ihor Mazepa believes that his detention is related to his participation in the Manifesto 42 movement.

Igor Mazepa, the founder and chairman of Concorde Capital, who was detained by law enforcement officers at the Ukrainian-Polish border on January 18, believes that this may be related to his active participation in the Manifesto 42 social movement.

"This may (...) resonate with our initiative on the 'Manifesto', on protecting business from arbitrariness," he told journalists during a broadcast by Channel 5 from the court building.

According to him, the proceedings under which all procedural actions are unfolding are already 10 years old, it was registered in 2014, but it has been actively developing over the past month and a half.

As reported, on January 18, SBI officers, together with the National Police's DBR, detained Mazepa on the Ukrainian-Polish border for allegedly organizing a scheme to illegally seize land plots with a total area of 2.4 hectares, where hydraulic structures of critical infrastructure, the Kyiv HPP, are located.

Concorde Capital clarified that law enforcement officers propose to set bail for Mazepa in the amount of UAH 700 million, and for his brother – UAH 500 million.

Lawyer Taras Poshyvanyuk said in a comment to Suspilne that Ihor Mazepa is charged with violating Article 255 of the Criminal Code – creation, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it.

"This is the so-called 'thieving article'. It turns out that a businessman or investor is almost equivalent to a 'thief in law', if we draw certain analogies. We disagree and will dispel the suspicions with admissible evidence that has already been collected," he said.

As for Ihor Mazepa's brother, according to the lawyer, he is also suspected of participating in a criminal group.

At the moment, the judge of the Pechersk court, where Igor Mazepa is being tried, has refused to challenge the prosecutor. After that, Mazepa's lawyers asked for time to familiarize themselves with the case file, but the judge refused to adjourn.

The lawyers filed a motion to recuse the judge. The motion will be considered by another judge.

At the same time, the Pechersk court began to choose a preventive measure for Yuriy Mazepa's brother. His lawyers also asked for a break to familiarize themselves with the case file and also challenged the prosecutor.