Accusatory jab: prosecutor ordered 8 years for blogger Ayaz Shabutdinov

On October 23, the prosecutor's office requested eight years in a general regime penal colony for blogger Ayaz Shabutdinov, a well—known organizer of business education courses. He is accused of fraud: according to investigators, the business coach posted false information about educational programs on his social networks. There are 113 episodes in the case, and 73 of them were reimbursed by the blogger. The blogger's lawyer assured that all the victims will be able to get their funds back and receive compensation — Shabutdinov's property, according to his estimates, will be enough for this. Lawyers called the requested sentence harsh. In their opinion, the prosecutor's demand was influenced by the negative information background surrounding the criminal cases of bloggers in recent years.

What kind of punishment was requested for Shabutdinov

Entrepreneur, blogger and business coach Ayaz Shabutdinov, who is accused of fraud, could face eight years in prison. The prosecutor requested such a term to be served in a general regime colony on October 23. In addition, he asked to fine the blogger for 15.5 million rubles.

Shabutdinov was detained on November 3, 2023. According to the prosecution, information about educational courses that did not correspond to reality was posted on his social networks. He sold courses, trainings and webinars, "promising high results of subsequent entrepreneurial activity," creating "false ideas that programs are able to guarantee financial protection in any life situation," and "a false impression of the legitimacy of his activities and its civil nature."

There are 113 episodes in total in the case, the blogger is charged under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — on especially large-scale fraud.

Ayaz Shabutdinov arrived at the court with two lawyers, who gave their client advice on how to behave with the prosecutor before the meeting.

"You remember everything. Don't back down from our position, don't be led into provocations," one of the defenders instructed him.

The blogger listened attentively. In his hands was Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. He did not let go of the book during the entire meeting.

Lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov asked the court to take into account that Shabutdinov pleaded guilty in the spring of 2025, and also recalled that in 2024 his client organized a project to clean the coast of Anapa from fuel oil.

— The defendant also contributed to a fair investigation of the case. He is ready to take responsibility," he said. — I would like you to look not at the article, but at the person. I ask that the verdict become not a point in his life, but just a comma.

The total damage caused by Shabutdinov's actions is estimated at more than 57 million rubles. At the same time, ot returned the funds to the 73rd victims.

"I admit that I made a mistake," the blogger said in court. — At the moment, some of the victims no longer have any claims against me. I would like to correct my mistake as soon as possible. While in jail, I realized where I was wrong. I ask the court to consider my sincere remorse. I want to return to society and be useful.

He also said that he became an entrepreneur, sincerely wanting to help people — to teach them how to earn money and unlock their potential.

What is known about Ayaz Shabutdinov

On his official website, Ayaz Shabutdinov positions himself as "the founder of the technological educational company for entrepreneurs Like Center and the names campus network, an investor and a billionaire." "Actually, I am a former teenager from the village of Kueda in the Perm Region," he writes about himself.

Among the blogger's projects are a network of hostels (Like Hostel), coffee shops (Coffee Like), a scholarship fund "Big Brother" and a technological educational company for entrepreneurs like the Center.

Also, according to the information on the website, he owned barbershops, language schools and a travel business.

The educational company's website says that when studying there, "they will help you find growth points and increase income in a strong community under the guidance of experienced mentors."

According to the calculations of Shabutdinov's lawyers, their client has the opportunity to pay to satisfy the demands of all the victims.

"The funds and part of the movable property will indeed be enough for the number of victims who have expressed a desire to receive compensation,— said lawyer Dmitry Grigoryadi.

Some of the victims were in court on Thursday.

"You've slowed down my business, not made it better for me," one of the victims told Shabutdinov.

Earlier, another victim, entrepreneur Natalia Kalistratova, told Izvestia that in 2019 she bought the Million with Ayaz VIP program from the defendant for 1 million rubles. She did not like the courses, as "the speakers provided the simplest information from the Internet," and after completing them, she did not have any more clients, despite promises before buying the educational program.

According to Dmitry Grigoryadi, Natalia Kalistratova demanded compensation of 1 billion rubles from the blogger.

Another victim, Alexander Vilyuga, previously said that he was faced with the refusal of the "Like Center" to return the money after he decided to complete his studies at Shabutdinov's entrepreneurial courses ahead of schedule. The civil court sided with Vilyuga and decided to return the money, along with compensation for moral damage.

With so many episodes, qualifying signs and other circumstances related to compensation for harm and admission of guilt, Moscow courts in similar cases impose imprisonment ranging from five to eight years to be served in a general regime colony, lawyer Andrei Mishonov told Izvestia.

"A full admission of guilt, active cooperation with the investigation and partial compensation for damages will mitigate the sentence, but will not change its real character in more than a hundred episodes," he believes.

Timofey Ermak, senior partner at the law firm Yurlov & Partners, recalled that the maximum penalty under the article attributed to Shabutdinov is ten years in prison.

"But the court rarely appoints such a term, even with many episodes," he noted.

He also agreed that partial compensation for damages and a guilty plea were mitigating circumstances in the case, but did not guarantee a lenient punishment.

And Mikhail Velichko, a lawyer at the Moscow City Bar Association, called the prosecutor's demand to sentence Shabutdinov to eight years in prison harsh. According to him, he could have been influenced by the information background on criminal cases related to bloggers.