MOSCOW. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Moscow investigators have opened a criminal case against former World Baptist Alliance Vice President Yury Sipko for disseminating false information about the operations of the Russian Armed Forces, spokesperson for the Moscow branch of the Russian Investigative Committee Yulia Ivanova said.
"A criminal case was opened against religious figure Yury Sipko. He is suspected of publicly disseminating intentionally false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces," Ivanova told reporters on Tuesday.
According to investigators, in March 2022, "Sipko published a video clip available to the general public on a video hosting platform that, according to a psychological and linguistic examination, contains knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces' operations against the Ukrainian civilian population."
"Searches were conducted today at the home of Sipko and his associates in the Moscow area and in the city of Kaluga as part of the criminal case," Ivanova said.
She did not say whether Sipko was detained.
Sipko, 61, is a Soviet and Russian religious figure and pastor, who served as World Baptist Alliance vice president from 2005 to 2010.