A Ukrainian court ordered a businessman held for two months on suspicion of plotting the murder of a Russian dissident journalist who faked his own death, according to reports.

Borys Herman, who allegedly paid $15,000 to a man to kill Arkady Babchenko in Kiev, claimed he had no intention of killing the reporter, the BBC reported.

The Ukrainian law enforcement authority, SBU, staged Babchenko’s death Tuesday, saying it helped foil a Russian assassination plot, according to the news outlet.

Babchenko — who revealed Thursday that the stunt was pulled off with the help of pig’s blood and a makeup artist — earlier said Herman paid for the assassination when news about the “killing” emerged.

The hitman also had been part of the intricate sting operation, according to the SBU.

Herman, who co-owns a weapons manufacturer, said he had been contacted by someone close to the Kremlin about plans to kill Babchenko.

He said he instead turned the information over to the Ukrainian authorities and worked on counter-intelligence operations with them, according to Reuters.

“We knew perfectly well that there would be no killing,” he said. “This was done only for the benefit of Ukraine.”

Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of trying to destabilize Ukraine through a series of targeted assassinations.

The Kremlin called accusations of Russian involvement “the height of cynicism.”