Limited opportunities: the world champion in arm wrestling is being extradited from Ecuador

Anatoly Shusharin, multiple world and European champion in arm wrestling among athletes with disabilities, was extradited from Ecuador to Russia on July 14 at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office. According to investigators, he forged receipts for allegedly purchased prosthetics and sold these payment documents to his friends with disabilities so that they would receive compensation from the Social Fund. The investigation estimates the damage at 6 million rubles. If Shusharin's guilt in the scam is proven, he may face up to ten years in prison, lawyers believe. Details of the scandal can be found in the Izvestia article.

How the prosthetic circuit worked

The Prosecutor General's Office has secured the extradition of Russian citizen Anatoly Shusharin from Ecuador, the press service of the supervisory authority told Izvestia. According to open sources, he is an arm wrestling coach, a four-time world champion and two-time European champion, and an international master of sports among athletes with musculoskeletal disorders.

The award-winning athlete is suspected of embezzling funds that the state allocates to provide prosthetics for people with disabilities. According to investigators, Shusharin "through the involvement of third parties" produced forged documents for the purchase of technical rehabilitation equipment. He then issued these fake receipts for the allegedly purchased prosthetics to his friends with disabilities, after which they contacted the department of the Social Fund of Russia in the Tyumen region and received monetary compensation. A criminal case has been opened under the article on fraud.

"The accused escaped from law enforcement agencies, and on behalf of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, he was put on the international wanted list in April 2024. Due to the lack of direct flights between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ecuador, agreements were reached with the competent authorities of Panama and Turkey on the transit of the accused," the Prosecutor General's Office said.

The accomplices divided the funds among themselves — the damage is estimated at more than 6 million rubles. According to Izvestia's source in law enforcement agencies, there are a total of 18 episodes in the case. For example, in April-May 2022, Shusharin, with the help of a group of unidentified persons, produced forged documents on the purchase of two prosthetics from an individual entrepreneur — a working forearm prosthesis for 147.6 thousand rubles and a cosmetic forearm prosthesis for 89.6 thousand rubles.

At about the same time, having entered into collusion with several defendants in the case, Shusharin stole more than 200 thousand rubles from the Social Fund, it follows from the case file. "One of the accomplices prepared documents confirming his disability, then bought a fake receipt from Shusharin for the purchase of prosthetics and applied to the local branch of the Social Fund with a request to pay compensation allegedly for the independent purchase of technical rehabilitation equipment," the source said.

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To conceal the forgery, Shusharin developed a special instruction on conspiracy measures, which he provided to his accomplices.

According to the source, Shusharin's accomplices were convicted in 2023-2025: several were sentenced to probation, and two were fined. All the defendants have disabilities, they live in different districts of the Tyumen region and the capital of the region itself.

What is Anatoly Shusharin known for?

Anatoly Shusharin has been coaching for more than ten years. At the initiative of the athlete, the armwrestling department for people with musculoskeletal disorders and the deaf was opened at Tyumen sports School No. 3.

In 2017, Shusharin was awarded the title of Master of Sports of Russia of international class, and in 2021 he became an Honored Master of Sports and Honored coach of Russia.

Shusharin is well-known in the Tyumen region. He is one of the founders of the armwrestling federation of the region. Among his students there are masters of sports of international class, prize-winners and winners of the championships of Russia and the world.

"From year to year, I train daily from 15 to 20 hours, from Monday to Saturday," the athlete said in an interview. — Physically, it's easy to break a person. Some even jump on one leg to the envy of the healthy. There are people with disabilities who have broken down psychologically. And there are just injured guys and girls who go out and fight. It's character!"

According to the coach, he became interested in arm wrestling in 2001. Before that, he was engaged in Greco-Roman wrestling, but he had to retire from this sport after a serious leg injury.

Shusharin has awards from the Department of Sports and Youth Policy of the Tyumen administration, a letter of thanks from the head of the local administration, and a certificate of honor from the Tyumen Regional Duma. In addition, the athlete has developed his own arm wrestling training program, and has published several scientific papers on his specialty.

In 2021, Shusharin held a master class and arm wrestling competitions in a juvenile detention center, according to the website of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Tyumen Region. Now the honored coach himself may end up behind bars.

What punishment does Shusharin face?

If the investigation proves that Shusharin is guilty and was the organizer of the criminal scheme, he may be sentenced to a term of five to ten years under the article on fraud on a particularly large scale when receiving payments, lawyers believe.

"The athlete may face a more severe punishment than his accomplices," said Albert Khaleyan, a criminal defense lawyer. — Given the amount of damage, his alleged role as the "brain" of the operation, and the fact that the money was intended for prosthetics for the disabled, the court is likely to choose a real term rather than a suspended one. It is likely to be significantly higher than the lowest threshold of five years.

Oleg Kim, a lawyer in civil and criminal cases, added that Anatoly Shusharin could be fined up to one million rubles.

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He has already paid damages to 64 of the 113 victims in his case.

According to Albert Khaleyan, the disability and status of a famous athlete can affect the final penalty as a mitigating circumstance, but they will not save from the real term.

"His status as a famous disabled athlete, achievements, and certificates from the authorities can be taken into account as a positive characteristic of his personality," the lawyer believes. — The judge will see not only the accused, but also the person with merit. This may create a slightly more favorable background when assigning a specific term under the sanction — not eight years, but 6.5, especially if there are other mitigating factors. For example, if the person involved pays off the damage caused.

According to the lawyer, publicity can also play against the athlete, as the case has caused a wide public outcry.

— Publicity and fame make a crime more cynical in the eyes of society. People may think, "How could such a person, himself with disabilities, steal from other people with disabilities?" he said.

When passing sentence, Oleg Kim added, the court will also take into account Shusharin's family status, including whether he has dependent minor children, parents of retirement age or relatives with disabilities.

According to Albert Khaleyan, Shusharin's accomplices could receive suspended sentences because they were the perpetrators, not the organizers. They may also have assisted the investigation or had other mitigating circumstances, such as disability and no criminal record.