Russian karate champion turned gangster sentenced to 11 years in prison

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Komi, Russia, sentenced a karate world champion to 11 years in prison for his involvement in thief-in-law…

By: Karim Zidan | 4 years ago
Russian karate champion turned gangster sentenced to 11 years in prison
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Komi, Russia, sentenced a karate world champion to 11 years in prison for his involvement in thief-in-law Yury Pichugin’s organized crime group.

Iktay Efendiev, 41, was found guilty of several serious crimes as part of Pichugin’s group, according to the regional investigative committee in charge of the case. The former karate world champion joined the organized crime world in 2004 and was responsible for caches of weapons and of ensuring the safety of their gang leaders. In 2010, he was involved in the abduction of a member of Pichugin’s crime group, whom they held at an unknown location before killing him. They then burned the body and buried it in the forest.

Yury Pichugin’s organized crime group was founded in 1994 and operated until their arrest in February 2018. 21 suspected members were arrested, many of whom charged with murder, extortions, fraud, and theft in the Komi and Arkhangelsk regions.

Efendiev reportedly reached a pre-trial agreement with investigators after providing information that was deemed useful to the case. Apart from his 11-year sentence, the former karate champion will be forced to pay a fine of 700,000 rubles ($10,750).

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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