The daughter of Oleksandr Mamai, the former mayor of Poltava who was convicted of corruption in 2023, was arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on June 11.
The SBU did not name the suspect, but Suspilne reported, citing sources, that it was Nataliia Veretennikova.
Mamai received a five-year suspended sentence in 2023 after being convicted of abuse of office and forgery.
Veretennikova is suspected of managing an advertisement agency in Saint Petersburg that did PR work for United Russia during the Russian elections in 2022 and 2023.
According to the SBU, Veretennikova remotely ran the business from Kyiv and earned 35 million rubles ($392,000) for her work on the campaigns.
Law enforcement authorities reportedly seized three apartments from Veretennikova and a minivan, as well as shares in two Ukrainian companies.
Veretennikova has been charged with collaboration and faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
Kateryna Hodunova
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