Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Saturday warned controversial Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy that he may face charges and possible extradition after publicly claiming he bribed guards during his detention in the Philippines.
Remulla’s statement came in response to Zdorovetskiy’s remarks during a YouTube livestream of Adin Live (@AdinRoss) on Friday, where the vlogger alleged that he had access to a mobile phone throughout his detention by paying off jail personnel.
During the livestream, Zdorovetskiy said, “I had the phone the whole time in jail” by “paying the guard. I vlogged the whole experience and I'm gonna expose the corruption. Everything… It's corruption. I paid the guard. You're good to go.”
He added, “Bro, you can do anything. Money talks in the Philippines.”
Remulla clarified that Zdorovetskiy was initially under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for a week before being transferred to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) detention facility, where he stayed for several months.
“If he shows that he was the corrupter in the facility, then we can charge him and have him extradited back,” Remulla said.
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.
Meanwhile, the BI said on Friday that an investigation was conducted regarding the Russian vlogger's access to a mobile phone inside the detention facility, which resulted in raids and the removal of personnel.
“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,” BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said.
“By November, personnel found to be remiss in their duties were identified and removed from their posts,” he added.