Philippines to charge streamer Vitaly Zdorovetskiy over BGC incident caught on Kick livestream

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, a Russian-American YouTuber and streamer on Kick, recently did a livestream from Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Philippines. During his livestream, he was seen harassing people, including threatening and insulting a woman, bothering security guards by stealing their caps, and riding a patrol motorcycle illegitimately.

After complaints, police arrested Zdorovetskiy on April 2 in Pasay City and labeled him an 'undesirable foreign national for harassing Filipinos.' Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla called his content 'kupal', a colloquial Filipino term that is used to mean someone who is attention-seeking.

According to the latest statement made by the Philippines News Agency's official X account on April 7, the vlogger will be facing criminal charges. The complete sentence says,

"LOOK: Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday (April 7, 2025) presents to the media Russian-American vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, who was arrested for allegedly harassing Filipinos as seen in viral videos. He would face criminal charges and would be temporarily detained at the Bureau of Immigration facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City. | Lloyd Caliwan"

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The Legal Mindset, Andrew Esquire uploads a tweet after Vitaly Zdorovetskiy faces charges

Andrew Esquire, host of Legal Mindset, uploaded a tweet on his X account involving Vitaly, stating,

"Today Vitaly was dragged out in cuffs for a public press conference in the Philippines after his arrest on multiple criminal counts. This will absolutely disincentivize nuisance streamers. Huge W in fighting these criminals, other nations take note, Philippines did it right."

He added in the comments,

"Further officials stated, “ DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla vows “no special treatment” for controversial Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy who he says will be detained at the BI detention facility in Taguig City for undesirability and a flight risk.”

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy will remain in custody under the Bureau of Immigration due to his classification as an undesirable foreign national and concern over his possible attempt to flee the country. Authorities are still trying to identify and locate the cameraman who helped Vitaly film his content.

Remulla also brought up the cyberlibel law, saying it should be revised to hold vloggers accountable when they profit from content that disrespects Filipinos or harms others.

According to The Philippine Star,

"Zdorovetskiy, 33, is facing three counts of unjust vexation in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act, two cases of theft and one charge of attempted theft."

However, it’s not clear exactly how long Vitaly Zdorovetskiy will stay in custody in the Philippines.

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In 2020, Zdorovetskiy was arrested in Egypt for climbing the Pyramids of Giza. Later that year, Miami police arrested him for allegedly assaulting a woman.