Court puts blogger Yelena Blinovskaya under house arrest

A court in Moscow has put blogger Yelena Blinovskaya under arrest for two months, Mediazona reports.

The same measure was requested by the investigators.

One of the investigators stated in court that Blinovskaya had turned herself in to the police.

The woman’s lawyer has also stated that her client transferred “a significant portion” of her tax to the state budget, but did not specify how much.

Blinovskaya is accused of tax evasion and money laundering. The Investigative Committee reported earlier today that she had provided a full confession and pleaded guilty.

According to the investigation, Blinovskaya was providing information services on the Internet, using the scheme of “splitting” her business, and “understated her received income.” It is alleged she did not pay taxes for 2019-2021 in the amount of more than 918 million rubles (over €10 million) and spent this money, attempting to launder them.

The woman was recently detained while trying to leave Russia in a rental car. She also had a flight booked.

Blinovskaya is a “life coach” and is famous for her “Marathon of Desires” programme for personal growth. Her Instagram page has over 5.3 million followers.