Kyiv's Pecherskyy district court has imposed a pre-trial restraint on businessman Ihor Mazepa in the form of detention until 27 February, Suspilne reported.
The court also decided that Mazepa could be released on bail of UAH 349.7 million.
At the beginning of the hearing, prosecutor Viktoriya Redko filed a motion to recognise the Ministry of Economy as a victim in the case.
At the same time, Mazepa's lawyer Taras Poshyvanyuk filed a motion for the hearing to be broadcast via video. He argued that the case aroused "significant public interest".
However, the judge denied the request.
The defence also filed a motion to disqualify the prosecutor, but the judge refused to do so and also refused to adjourn the hearing so that the lawyers could have time to read the case file.
In a commentary to Suspilne, Mazepa noted that the investigation accuses him of "illegally buying, literally, up to 2 hectares of land worth UAH 7 million, out of the 3,000 hectares that exist on this so-called dam".
"This is a drop in the ocean. Even if we assume that someone has committed a crime, some state authorities or, as in this case, they claim that it is my crime, it has nothing to do with the UAH 700 million bail they are asking for or taking me into custody. Therefore, I conclude that there is "something foul" here," the businessman said, adding that the proceedings are 10 years old and were registered in 2014.
At the same time, only in the last 1.5 months the proceedings began to be actively "pedalled" when his neighbours on these land plots "went to prison".
Lawyer Taras Poshyvanyuk noted that Mazepa is charged with a "thieve article" - Article 255 of the Criminal Code (creation, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organisation, as well as participation in it).
Mazepa's lawyers also filed a motion to disqualify the judge, which will be considered by another judge.
The Pecherskyy court also began to choose a measure of restraint for Yuriy Mazepa, the brother of Ihor Mazepa. His lawyers also asked for a break to get acquainted with the case file and declared the prosecutor's recusal.