Camille Naredo

Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary  Jonvic Remulla presents to the media, Russian Vlogger Vitaly Zdororvetskiy during a briefing at the Quezon City Reception House on April 7, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary  Jonvic Remulla presents to the media, Russian Vlogger Vitaly Zdororvetskiy during a briefing at the Quezon City Reception House on April 7, 2025. Zdororvetskiy was arrested last April 3 and tagged as an undesirable foreign national after allegedly harassing security guards and stealing an industrial fan from a restaurant in Taguig City on Monday morning, March 31. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

RUSSIAN VLOGGER VITALY ARREST

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176923855015120250407-dilg-remulla-zdororvetskiy-JC2234.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla presents to the media, Russian Vlogger Vitaly Zdororvetskiy during a briefing at the Quezon City Reception House on April 7, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File" width="960"/>Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary  Jonvic Remulla presents to the media, Russian Vlogger Vitaly Zdororvetskiy during a briefing at the Quezon City Reception House on April 7, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</div>MANILA -- Controversial Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy may be charged and extradited after his claims of corruption during his detention in the Philippines.This, according to Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, responding to comments made by Zdorovetskiy during a YouTube livestream of ‘Adin Live&#x27; (@AdinRoss) on Friday.During the livestream, Zdorovetskiy claimed that he &quot;had the phone the whole time in jail&quot; by &quot;paying the guard.&quot;&quot;I vlogged the whole experience and I&#x27;m gonna expose the corruption. Everything… It&#x27;s corruption. I paid the guard. You&#x27;re good to go,&quot; he said.&quot;Bro, you can do anything. Money talks in the Philippines,&quot; Zdorovetskiy added. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/21/vlogger-vitaly-zdorovetskiy-says-philippine-detention-built-me-1107">Vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy says after Philippine detention: ‘They really tried to break me but it built me’</a></div>Remulla said he cannot comment on the claim as the Russian vlogger only stayed under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for a week and was later detained at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) detention facility for months. &quot;If he shows that he was the corrupter in the facility, then we can charge him and have him extradited back,&quot; Remulla told ABS-CBN News in a message Saturday, January 24. Zdorovetskiy, 33, was initially arrested by BI intelligence operatives in April 2025 after going viral on social media for harassing Filipinos in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). He was deported last January 17.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/17/vlogger-vitaly-zdorovetskiy-deported-to-russia-2010">READ: Vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy deported to Russia</a></div>Meanwhile, the BI said on Friday that <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/22/bjmp-russian-vlogger-zdorovetskiy-had-no-access-to-gadgets-cigarettes-while-in-our-custody-1735">an investigation was conducted</a> regarding the Russian vlogger&#x27;s access to a mobile phone inside the detention facility which resulted in raids and removal of personnel. &quot;The incident occurred around June or July. We immediately conducted raids inside the facility, which resulted in the confiscation of gadgets that had been smuggled into the compound,&quot; BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said.&quot;By November, personnel found to be remiss in their duties were identified and removed from their posts,&quot; he added. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/22/palace-3-bi-officials-sacked-over-russian-vlogger-s-alleged-video-content-while-in-detention-1823">READ: 3 BI officials sacked over Russian vlogger’s alleged video content while in detention -- Palace</a></div>The BI pointed out that a prior report from BI Warden Facility personnel also showed that another foreign national named Malik Dejoun Okojie who appeared with Zdorovetskiy in the video &quot;had smuggled mobile phones concealed in supplies brought in by his Filipina wife&quot;.&quot;Zdorovetskiy, who we consider as an undesirable alien, continues to post rage-bait content to generate income from Filipinos online,&quot; the BI commissioner said. &quot;Regardless of these posts, he remains permanently barred from returning to the Philippines due to his violations,&quot; Viado noted.

During a livestream, Zdorovetskiy claimed that he "had the phone the whole time in jail" by "paying the guard."

During a livestream, Zdorovetskiy claimed that he "had the phone the whole time in jail" by "paying the guard."

Remulla responds to Russian vlogger's claim of 'corruption' while detained in PH

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Remulla responds to Russian vlogger's claim of 'corruption' while detained in PH

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 24, 2026 03:11 PM PHT

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Department of the Interior and Local Government

DILG

Jonvic Remulla

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology

BJMP

Bureau of Immigration

Russian vlogger

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