Toake's defense filed an appeal against the court verdict.

The defense of 34-year-old Vitaly Toake, accused of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy and six counts of extortion committed by an organized group, has filed an appeal against the verdict. This was announced on September 17 by Maxim Kashin, the defendant's lawyer, in a conversation with Izvestia.

"An appeal has been filed. We believe that this sentence is harsh, unjustified and illegal. Based on the materials of the criminal case, the defense assumes that the sentence was passed in violation of the norms of substantive and procedural law. The defense hopes that the court of appeal will consider this appeal in better quality and in more detail and analyze all the material of the criminal case," he said.

The lawyer also expressed the hope that the case would be returned for a new trial or there would be a reduction in the criminal penalty.

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On September 3, the Moscow Regional Court sentenced Toake to 16 years in a special regime penal colony. According to law enforcement agencies, Toake, known in criminal circles as Vitaly "Ramensky", was a member of the community headed by Oleg Medvedev, who has the nickname Shishkan. However, Toake claimed that he was not personally acquainted with Oleg Medvedev. The only time he saw him was when he was playing football with a team at a football stadium, and it was announced to him that he was playing for this team.

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