(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian authorities accused detained investment banker Igor Mazepa of organizing a scheme to illegally buy land near Kyiv to build luxury residences. 

At issue is the purchase of seven hectares (17 acres) of land on the grounds of the capital’s hydropower station that put the functioning of critical infrastructure at risk, the State Bureau of Investigation said Friday in a statement. Mazepa, who was detained Thursday, has denied wrongdoing. 

Mazepa’s firm, Concorde Capital, said law enforcement raided its premises on Thursday and seized business documents. Mazepa alleges he was detained in retribution for his complaints about law enforcement corruption and pressure on business.

Investigators now “are working to prove the involvement of those involved in the criminal proceedings in the seizure of 300 hectares of land with an estimated value of over 1 billion hryvnia ($24.4 million),” bureau spokeswoman Tetiana Sapian said.  

A district court in Kyiv on Friday ordered Mazepa held in detention until Feb. 27 as a precautionary measure and set bail at almost 350 million hryvnia, Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reported. 

Read more: Ukraine Detains Investment Banker Who Complained of Corruption

Mazepa suggested last year that business leaders unite to create a blacklist of corrupt officials. The Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs expressed concern and said it views his detention as “excessive.”

While the investigation has been underway for years, detentions of suspects began in November. The luxury cottages on the site were built in 2013. 

Investors have been complaining about a lack of rule of law in Ukraine, which ranked a shared 116th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s index of corruption perceptions in 2022. A higher rank means greater perceived corruption.

(Updates with court decision in fifth paragraph.)

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