Decent responsibility: why Ayaz Shabutdinov was sentenced to seven years

Izmailovsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Ayaz Shabutdinov, a business coach and entrepreneur, to seven years in prison and fined 5 million rubles. The entrepreneur founded the Like Center company, through which he sold trainings, courses and webinars on doing business — their cost ranged from 60 thousand to 12 million rubles. Shabutdinov promised his clients a "guaranteed superspeed," but they complained en masse that the training turned out to be useless. The blogger was found guilty of 113 episodes of fraud, and the total amount of damage from his actions exceeded 57 million rubles. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

How was the hearing on Shabutdinov's case?

On October 31, the Izmailovsky District Court sentenced popular blogger Ayaz Shabutdinov to seven years in a general regime penal colony. In addition, he is obliged to pay a fine of 5 million rubles. The organizer of the scandalous business courses was found guilty of 113 episodes of fraud "on a significant, large and especially large scale." The court also settled civil lawsuits in the amount of more than 80 million rubles.

Shabutdinov was arrested in November 2023 after numerous complaints about the educational courses he sold. As follows from the case file, the victims paid from 60 thousand to 12 million rubles for the proposed programs — the total amount of damage exceeded 57 million rubles.

The blogger created the Like Center company, through which he has been selling trainings, courses and webinars for entrepreneurs for several years. As Shabutdinov assured, after training, his clients will be able to open a successful business and achieve high income in a short time. But many buyers said that these promises were not true.

"Shabutdinov created an organized criminal group, coordinated the actions of accomplices and ensured that deliberately false, untrue information about ongoing educational programs, which in reality were not such, was posted on a controlled Internet resource," the Moscow prosecutor's office said.

As follows from the case file, Shabutdinov and his accomplices sold business courses and trainings, in particular, through the Like Center company, using "aggressive marketing".

—Shabutdinov personally ensured the development of training texts and contracts for the provision of educational services in order to create a false impression that his programs are capable of guaranteeing financial protection in any life situation and a false impression of the legality of the activity and its civil nature," the prosecutor said during the court session.

Earlier, he asked to sentence Shabutdinov to eight years in prison and a fine of 15.5 million rubles. In addition, the prosecution insisted that the blogger be banned for five years from "engaging in activities related to the implementation of educational programs, including on the Internet."

Black label

In October 2025, Ayaz Shabutdinov, who fully admitted his guilt, reimbursed 73 victims for monetary damages. According to the blogger's lawyers, their client has the opportunity to satisfy the demands of all the victims. Earlier, the entrepreneur admitted on social media that he sold his courses "indiscriminately to everyone, and the advertisement itself sounded like a miracle pill."

Before sentencing, Shabutdinov told Izvestia that during his several years in jail, he had rethought his life in many ways.

"I've sorted out my mistakes—for myself and so that others don't have to pay the price I'm paying now," he said. — For several years before the investigation began, I lived in a world where money came first, where life was built for show and without measure. I think I've changed in these two years. I've already been severely punished. It wasn't just two years locked up, it was the loss of friends, health, and a loss of trust that might never return. It's a black mark for life.

Shabutdinov's lawyers Dmitry Grigoryadi and Kaloy Akhilgov called the sentence imposed on the businessman harsh.

"This is a harsh sentence, given the complete absence of aggravating circumstances in the case and the full compensation paid to all victims who expressed such a desire," the defense told Izvestia. — Our client cooperated with the investigation, publicly repented and admitted his guilt. Mitigating circumstances include the absence of criminal records and the presence of two minor children. Taking into account all the circumstances of the case, we had every right to expect a more lenient punishment.

On the eve of the hearing, Kaloy Akhilgov asked the court to take into account that Shabutdinov had contributed to a "fair investigation of the case", and also, while in jail, organized a charity event to eliminate the consequences of the environmental disaster in Anapa.

Can the court mitigate the punishment

Taking into account 113 episodes in the fraud case, the sentence of seven years in a penal colony imposed on Ayaz Shabutdinov cannot be called too harsh, says Veronika Polyakova, a criminal lawyer and managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association.

— But such a punishment cannot be called mild either. At the same time, the court took into account all mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The damage to most of the victims was compensated, and Shabutdinov also pleaded guilty. If the defense files an appeal, and by the time the court considers the damage to the rest of the victims will be compensated, this may be the basis for a reduction in punishment," the expert told Izvestia.

The maximum sentence Shabutdinov could receive under the article against him is ten years in prison, said Albert Khaleyan, a criminal defense lawyer and partner at the Vector Prime Moscow Bar Association.

— On the one hand, the sentence is strict, since it is associated with real imprisonment for a long time. On the other hand, it is milder than what the state prosecutor requested. This suggests that the court has approached sentencing taking into account the whole picture of what happened," he said.

According to the lawyer, if Shabutdinov compensates all the remaining victims before the verdict comes into force, the blogger's defenders have the right to apply for a commutation of punishment.

— The court may take this fact into account as a new circumstance. However, you need to understand that this will not be able to completely neutralize the punishment. Most likely, we may be talking about a slight reduction in the term or a change in the conditions of serving the sentence. The basis of the verdict, the guilt of the crime, will not change," the lawyer noted.

At the same time, as Izvestia found out, Ayaz Shabutdinov's business training and courses are still available on the official website of the Like Center.

— If there are new victims who have acquired courses after the initiation of criminal proceedings or after sentencing, this will become the basis for initiating a new criminal case. It will be considered as a new criminal episode, perhaps even with aggravating circumstances," Albert Khaleyan believes.

If new episodes appear, the criminal case will be investigated separately from the verdict, lawyer Veronika Polyakova confirmed.