MOSCOW, February 13 The Tagansky Court of Moscow, at the request of the investigation, extended the arrest for another two months for blogger and business coach Ayaz Shabutdinov, accused of major fraud, a correspondent reports from the courtroom.
““Extend the preventive measure for Shabutdinov Ayaz Rifatovich until April 16, 2024,” the judge announced the decision.
At the court hearing, according to the investigator, it became known that seven more criminal cases had been opened against Shabutdinov, and the blogger would also be checked for crimes related to violation of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation.
Motivating his petition to extend Shabutdinov’s arrest, the investigator said that a number of other measures need to be carried out in the criminal case, in particular, to establish the whereabouts of more than 100 witnesses, interrogate the victims, order examinations, and conduct seizures in the five district branches of the Moscow Federal Tax Service, and it is also necessary to identify other persons involved in crimes in the criminal case.
In addition, according to the prosecution, while at large Shabutdinov will be able to hide from the preliminary investigation authorities, since he has a passport as a citizen of Saint Lucia and foreign real estate.
Shabutdinov's defense is seeking his transfer to house arrest. At early meetings, lawyers offered to pay bail in the amount of 50 million rubles for their client. Shabutdinov himself today called his detention “a form of pressure on him and his business” and “pressure on other entrepreneurs.”
The business coach and founder of Like Center was charged under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale). According to investigators, Shabutdinov created a false impression among citizens about the possibility of building a highly profitable business thanks to his educational programs. He did not admit guilt.
Shabutdinov was detained on November 3, 2023, the next day the capital court sent him to a pre-trial detention center.
Another person involved is the general director of the company that sells training courses, Vasily Alekseev, he is on the international wanted list.