The court approved the refusal of Vasya Bandit to be released from punishment due to illness

The Moscow City Court upheld the decision to refuse to release Igor Kokunov, known in criminal circles as Vasya Bandit. This was reported on April 24 by a correspondent of Izvestia from the courtroom.

Earlier, Kokunov's defense applied to the court for the termination of criminal prosecution and the release of the convict due to his serious health condition. Over the past three years, the crime boss has suffered six strokes and two heart attacks, as a result of which he uses a wheelchair.

In addition, he was diagnosed with chronic cerebral ischemia, as well as serious vascular and kidney diseases.

Despite the medical reports provided, the court found no grounds to satisfy the defense's request and approved the refusal to release Vasya Bandit from further serving his sentence.

Earlier, on January 21, Vasya Bandit was given an extended preventive measure in the form of detention until the end of March. At the same time, the metropolitan court rejected the request of Vasya Bandit's defense to return the case to the prosecutor's office.

On September 16, 2025, the Moscow Regional Court found Vasya Bandit guilty of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy and sentenced him to eight years and two months in a special regime penal colony with a fine of 1 million rubles.

The investigation was completed at the end of April 2021, and then the court placed Kokunov under house arrest. In February 2022, the day before the new meeting, he took off his bracelet and ran away. In 2023, Vasya Bandit was put on the international wanted list, and later he was detained at a checkpoint between Albania and Montenegro on an Interpol warrant. In the fall of 2024, Kokunov was extradited to Russia.