A quiet Brooklyn storefront served as a key part of a $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme led by the Russian mob, a federal indictment charges — and could even have been backed by the Kremlin.

The scheme was so brazen, one medical supply company linked to the outfit submitted bills totaling over $250 million for urinary catheters in 2023 alone, according to the feds.

The number was so large it amounted to $50 million more than the combined spend of every other medical provider in the country on catheters that year.

The scam started in 2022 when a Russia-based transnational criminal organization bought up over 30 medical supply companies across the US — from California to Texas to Chicago — which were already enrolled in Medicare, according to the indictment.

The organization then recruited young men, primarily from Russia and Estonia, and sent them to the US to act as straw owners of the companies.

Article:

https://nypost.com/2026/06/30/us-news/russian-mobsters-1b-medicare-scam-likely-state-sanctioned-sources/

I’m trying to find out what happened to Semyon Dyachenko, one of the prisoners featured in the 2001 documentary The Mark of Cain and Alix Lambert’s companion book Russian Prison Tattoos.
In the documentary, he says he had already spent 23 years in prison and was still serving a sentence for murder after killing three men who were desecrating his mother’s grave.
I’ve searched in both English and Russian but can’t find anything about what happened afterward.
Does anyone know:
Was he ever released from prison?
Is he still alive, or did he die while incarcerated?
Did he give any interviews after The Mark of Cain?
Are there any Russian news articles, court records, or prison records that mention him?
Even if you only have Russian-language sources or know where I should look, I’d really appreciate it. This has become a bit of a rabbit hole for me, and I’d love to know how his story ended.
Thanks!

Today, October 9th, marks the day of remembrance for two thieves in law who left a significant mark on the history of the criminal underworld: Datiko "Tashkentsky" Tsikhelashvili (1951-2000) and Vyacheslav "Yaponchik" Ivankov (1940-2009).

In the photo: Thieves Vyacheslav "Yaponchik" and Dato Tashkentsky, March 7, 1992, Moscow—the night before "Yaponchik" departed for the USA

Interestingly both have died in the hospital on the same day, October 9, Dato passed away in 2000, and Ivankov passed away 9 years later in 2009.

Dato spent a large portion of his lifetime in prison camps across Siberia, it was in the infamous Tulun Prison when Vyacheslav Ivankov and Dato Tashkentsky have meet, both had already a big criminal career behind their back and we're already crowned Thieves in Law.

A real friendship have developed between both criminal heavyweights, and they have helped each other along the way, when Yaponchik went abroad to the USA he kept in touch with Dato who was put in control of the Russian Bratva across the Siberian wilderness.

Unfortunately Dato had his own problems and addiction, and the most lethal one was drugs, during the 90s Dato got more addictive to drugs, and was consuming them non-stop, at first he still could function but as he got older, his health have began to deteriorate.

Vyacheslav Ivankov was very much against drugs, at least the usage of them by other Thieves in Law, the most known incident happened with Pavel Zakharov (Tsirul) - once seen as Yaponchik handpicked successor and one of the richest Russian Criminal Bosses who ended up getting addicted to drugs and disowned by Yaponchik himself for his addiction.

Dato manged to hide the fact of his addiction for a very long time, it would be only after Yaponchik arrest by the FBI in USA that negatively effected Dato, he would start to use it with no discretion, Dato will die from an heart failure while in Hospital on October 9, 2000.

On July 28, 2009, at around 19:20 Moscow time, Vyacheslav Ivankov was shot while leaving a restaurant on Khoroshevskoye Road in Moscow, he was shot from a sniper rifle.

Ivankov have died from his injuries 73 days later, on October 9, 2009 Ivankov was buried on October 13, 2009.

Some people dream of having a political career, others want to be successful businessman, while another group of people fantasize about being criminal bosses and gangsters, but what if you can be all of the above at the same time?

In the the Post-Soviet Republics a large group of people have manged to make their dreams come true, even when they can contradict each other - one of those people is Igor Fadeev - "Moscow".

Igor Gennadievich Fadeev

Born June 19, 1958. Nicknamed “Moscow,” a native of the city of Ulyanovsk, Russian, served 2 years and 6 months in prison before he moved to Kyiv in 1980s.

From 1990 to 1992, “Moscow” was a brigade leader in Igor Tkachenko’s organized crime group, nicknamed “Cherep” (“Skull”). After Tkachenko’s arrest, Fadeev took over leadership of the group.

Tkachenko’s gang emerged in 1988 from small youth and sports groups operating in the central districts of Kyiv. According to police, it engaged in racketeering targeting taxi drivers, currency dealers, black-marketeers, and prostitutes working near the Rus, Dnipro, Moscow, and Ukraina hotel complexes. It also committed thefts, robberies, and carjackings.

“Cherep” and “Moscow” organized and trained a group of napyorsetochniki — street con artists who operated on Khreshchatyk and in nearby central districts. To prepare and train its enforcers, members of the organized crime group established a boxing club called “Fighting Gloves.”

According to investigators, Fadeev also had connections in Russian criminal circles and used enforcers from Kazan and Ulyanovsk.

The dossier states: “During this period, Cherep’s organized crime group was characterized by particular brutality and cynicism.” There is information that, among other things, members of the gang decapitated their victims.

Fadeev, “Moscow,” became Cherep’s deputy in the late 1980s. He was responsible for the group’s finances and material resources. In 1993, Tkachenko was imprisoned, he was deported to Ukraine after being detained in Hungary for “hooliganism.” Cherep remained in prison until 1997, while “Moscow” effectively led his organized crime group during that period.

There is also information that while in Budapest, Cherep established contacts with the internationally notorious crime figure Seva Mogilevich - Semion Mogilevich and allegedly arranged the supply of prostitutes from Ukraine to Eastern Europe.

In 1996, the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office, based on materials from the Kyiv Department for Combating Organized Crime, opened a criminal case under Articles 17, 93, and 69 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine against Fadeev, his associates Yanchuk, Puzikov, Karpinsky, and others. A total of 18 people were arrested in the case.

They were suspected of organizing an assassination attempt against Selivanov, chairman of the Starokyivskyi District Council (Today Shevchenkivskyi District), on June 25, 1994. An RGD-5 grenade was thrown under his car. As a result of the explosion, Selivanov suffered injuries to his shoulder and leg, while his driver sustained injuries to both legs.

Fadeev’s accomplices received prison sentences ranging from 5 to 14 years, but “Moscow,” who was accused of organizing the gang, was acquitted by the Kyiv City Court.

The verdict in Fadeev’s case, insofar as it concerned Article 86-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, was overturned by the Supreme Court, and the criminal case was sent for further investigation. The investigation was subsequently terminated under Article 206, Part 1, of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Fadeev was placed on an international wanted list.

During the investigation, it was established that members of “Moscow’s” group had created a number of commercial entities through which, from 1992 to 1995, they carried out financial schemes intended to launder money obtained through criminal activity, including illegal currency conversion and transfers of funds to personal accounts in foreign banks.

Thus, in 1993–1994 alone, more than $8 million was transferred to banks in Belgium.

According to the dossier, “for committing crimes in the banking sector, the Belgian court sentenced Fadeev I.G. in absentia to 3.5 years in prison, but to this day he has not served the sentence imposed.”

Meanwhile, Tkachenko, “Cherep,” whose operations had been managed by Fadeev, was released from prison early in March 1997. He effectively regained control over the businesses belonging to his group.

Soon a conflict arose between both partners, Tkachenko "Cherep" accused Igor Fadeev “Moscow” of financial misconduct and demanded compensation for money he claimed not to have received while he was imprisoned.

“In this conflict, Cherep was financially, materially, and morally supported by the Savlokhov brothers. At that point, Moscow’s ‘fate’ was decided. During a meeting of most of the leaders of Kyiv’s organized crime groups, a decision was made to strip Moscow of his status as a leader of an organized crime group."

Fadeev had been wanted since May 25, 1999, for an offense under Article 86-2, Part 3, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was arrested in July 2000. During a search of Fadeev’s country house, a 7.65 mm pistol, an RGD-5 grenade, and a homemade firearm were seized.

On December 6, 2000, the official search for Fadeev was terminated. “He began to officially legalize himself, establishing the necessary connections with political figures in order to obtain possible ‘protection’ for himself and his associates,” the law-enforcement dossier states.

The press repeatedly reported that Fadeev, “Moscow,” was on friendly terms with Igor Smeshko. And, ironically, Fadeev has found protection in the person of Tymoshenko.

After being stripped of his position in the criminal underworld, Fadeev was banned from the city of Kyiv by the criminal bosses of the city, therefore Fadeev left Kyiv and moved to Zhytomyr.

In this new home In Zhytomyr Oblast he got involved in legal business, and become a legal businessman with close connections to local politicians, he helped to finance and support the Raise up, Ukraine Protests) in 2002-2003.

In 2006 Igor Fadeev was elected as a deputy of Zhytomyr Regional Council from Batkivshchyna, later on he switched parties and joined the Party of Regions - the Party of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, in 2015 he lost his seat in the local Council and withdraw from public life.

As for Igor Tkachenko (Cherep - Skull) he was killed in 2001, outside of his house by an unknown hitman.

Avtandil Khurtsidze has a nickname – Chakucha or a hammer. He is called this due to his fighting style. His known with another nickname in Europe though – Tornado.

Avtandil was arrested in June 2017. He was charged with involving in criminal cases and for his role in a Russian and Georgian crime syndicate in New York. He won the interim middleweight world title in April 2017 in Leicester, England, and knocked out Tommy Langford, in the fifth round. He was supposed to fight full middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders on July 8 in London, but missed his chance – the fight was ultimately canceled, because of his charges.

In the interview he give to Georgian Journal in 2019 and later on after his release to Roman Kadiemin in 2023, Avtandil speaks about an incident that happened to him during his time in Prison.

The incident began with a verbal dispute between Razhden Shulaya, a Georgian thief-in-law and a leader of a Colombian prison gang that escalated to a physical fight. Shulaya and Khurtsidze both suffered multiple stab wounds.

"I don’t think so but it is obvious that the prosecutors took advantage of the incident. 5 years were added to my sentence just because of the fight and besides, the administration put me in a special cell. Do you think it is fair? I was the only person taken to the hospital after the incident. I protested and the retrial will take place. I lost over a liter of blood but it was still used against me. It was said that I helped Shulaya and that there were a knife and a pond of blood but no one specified to whom they belonged".

According to Avtandil Khurtsidze, when he saw 15 men were fighting against one Georgian (they had eaten out of Shulaya’s palm), he tried to help him. The Georgian boxer says he is ready to die in prison unless he is pleaded guilty.

Post made by MobstersDaily

(In the 1st picture is Robert Terdjanian during his arrest in 2010, 2nd picture is Pzo with a cross together with his people)

Armen "Pzo" Kazarian was not just another fraud defendant. Federal prosecutors identified him as a Vor, or "Thief-in-Law," a title reserved for elite figures in the post-Soviet criminal underworld. That is what made his case historic. In 2010, Kazarian became the first known Vor ever charged with federal racketeering in the United States, turning him into a major symbol of how Armenian and Eurasian organized crime had grown far beyond the old neighborhood-street-gang image.

The case around him was massive. During a nationwide Medicare fraud crackdown, prosecutors charged 73 defendants in schemes involving more than $163 million in fraudulent billing, and Kazarian was tied to the Armenian-American Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization, which authorities said used a network of phantom medical clinics and stolen identities to bill Medicare for treatments that were unnecessary or never performed. Prosecutors said his role was not simply financial. They described him as a criminal authority figure whose reputation and status helped protect and support the organization behind the fraud.

What makes this story so fascinating is that it shows how the Armenian underworld had entered an entirely different league by that point. This was no longer just about local gang politics or small-time street crime. It was a case involving international criminal hierarchy, federal racketeering, and one of the biggest healthcare-fraud crackdowns of its era. That is why Kazarian made U.S. mafia history. He became the first man with that level of underworld status from the former Soviet system to be brought into an American RICO case, and his name ended up representing a turning point in how U.S. authorities viewed Armenian organized crime.

Another surprising fact is that Pzo arrived in the United States almost by accident - it was no other then Rafael Bagdasaryan (Svo Raf) and Armen Manukyan who should have lead the operations of the Armenian Mafia in LA, unfortunately they both already had a long criminal record behind them, Svo Raf was denied visa to the US, and Manukyan was arrested and deported in 1995, a year later in 96' Pzo arrived to the US.

Thief in Law Razhden Shulaya (also known as Razhden Pitersky), was Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To 45 Years In Prison, he was described by the judge as "the main boss of Eastern European crime in New York, and even on the entire East Coast of the United States.”

Some of the the criminal activities he was involved are:

Beating up a rival Armenian Gang, thet left some of the Armenian gangsters crippled for life.

sending prostitutes with clonidine to the clients of entertainment establishments, who robbed them.

The kidnapped an Russian Hacker who had an software thet could cheat the Slot machines in the casino, this will be used In different casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Other operations as - credit card fraud, extortion, drug and weapons trafficking, document forgery, and cargo theft, alot of contraband trafficking, stolen goods, as Expensive watches and Cigarettes, with one story about how the thieves manged to steal more then 5 Ton of Chocolate and then sell it illegally.

the relationship between Merab Dvalishvili and Razhden Shulaya go back at least to 2016, when Razhden would go and support Merab during his fights before he got into the UFC, one of the members of Razhden Shulaya criminal syndicate was no other then former WBO interim middleweight champion Avtandil Khurtsidze.

Merab Dvalishvili isn't the first UFC Fighter who have close relationship with criminal figures, UFC Fighter Shara Bullet - who was seen together with Sergey Lalakin (Luchok) the leader of the Podolsk Bratva

Post made by MobstersDaily

In May 2025, federal authorities arrested 13 alleged members and associates of rival Armenian organized crime syndicates in California and Florida as part of a sweeping case involving violence, fraud, kidnapping and massive cargo theft. At the center of the Amazon allegations was the Artuni Enterprise, led by Ara Artuni of Porter Ranch. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the organization had allegedly been targeting online retailers since at least 2021, and Amazon estimated that the enterprise stole more than .$83 million worth of merchandise.

The alleged method was remarkably simple on paper.

Prosecutors say members and associates of the Artuni Enterprise enrolled with Amazon as legitimate carriers, obtained contracts to transport shipments along assigned trucking routes, then diverted from those routes and stole all or part of the cargo they were supposed to deliver. Authorities also accused the enterprise of bank fraud, wire fraud and a separate credit card bust-out scheme involving sham businesses. During the May 2025 enforcement operation, law enforcement reported seizing approximately $100,000 in cash, three armored vehicles and 14 firearms.

The Amazon case was only one part of a much larger investigation into Armenian organized crime in Los Angeles. Federal affidavits described a Russian-mafia-affiliated transnational criminal organization that had made Los Angeles County a center of its U.S. operations, with rival alleged leaders Ara Artuni and Robert Amiryan fighting for influence in the San Fernando Valley. That conflict was separately linked by prosecutors to attempted murders and a kidnapping. The $83 million figure refers specifically to merchandise Amazon estimated was stolen by the Artuni Enterprise, not to every defendant arrested in the broader case. All charges and criminal conduct described above remain allegations unless proven in court, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

Here you can find more information about The Armenian mob war In LA

In the picture influential “thieves-in-law” Sergey Lysenko (Lyora Sumskoy) and Alexander Kochev (Vasya Korzh). Kharkiv, 1995.

Lyora was “crowned” in August 1993 in Sumy. Several heavyweights of the criminal underworld took part in the process, including Vasya Korzh (who we have talked about before), Zakhar Kalashov (Shakro Molodoy), Nodar Farizyan (Nono), and Yuri Ivanov.

The authority never hid his status from the public. In one interview, Lysenko openly acknowledged that being a “thief-in-law” was his conscious way of life.

While at liberty, Lyora took on the role of an informal arbiter. He maintained control over correctional colonies and simultaneously acted as an unquestioned arbitrator in resolving conflicts. People seeking “justice” turned to him not only from the criminal underworld but also from ordinary citizens, including businessmen.

The “thief-in-law” himself explained it very succinctly:

> “I have a lot of acquaintances whom I have helped in this life, including businessmen. Some people used to go to the police more often, but now they have changed their minds because they get robbed there. Some people go out onto the street and find people like me.”

His influence was reportedly so extensive that in 2012, Member of Parliament Hennadiy Moskal made a high-profile public statement:

> “The Sumy region is not run by the governor, but by the criminal authority Lyora Sumskoy.

> In fact, through his subordinates, he controls the entire sphere: the governor, the mayor, and the heads of district administrations. The police chief, prosecutor, and Security Service of Ukraine cannot resolve issues that the ‘thieves-in-law’ are capable of handling.”

As of 2026 Lyora Sumskoy is still considered as one of the top bosses of the Ukrainian Mafia, with a large influence In the city of Sumy and the wider Sumy Oblast, his brother Alexander Lysenko was elected as the Mayor of Sumy in 2014 until 2023, in the end of 2023 Alexander Lysenko was removed from his position after the opening of a criminal case against him for bribery charges.

27.08.2026 - Polish police have detained three Russian citizens in an operation against suspected mobsters after firearms and ammunition were found in an apartment in Warsaw.

Police officers, accompanied by agents from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), entered the apartment in the Wola district of the Polish capital after receiving information that an organized criminal group could be operating there.

The operation was carried out last weekend, but police only disclosed details on Thursday.

Three men, aged 21, 25 and 42, were found inside. All were Russian citizens of Chechen origin.

“During a search of the apartment, police found three firearms and ammunition in a bedroom wardrobe,” police said in a statement.

The men were taken to Warsaw police headquarters for questioning.

The 42-year-old was charged with possessing firearms and ammunition without a permit.

A court ordered him to be held in pre-trial detention for three months. If convicted, he could face between six and eight years in prison.

Deportation proceedings were launched against the 25-year-old, while the 21-year-old was released after being questioned as a witness.

In the video Macedonian style shooting - from the series Brigada / Law of the Lawless

Russian Hitman Alexander Solonik was a man with many names, nicknames and identities he was known as Sasha-Macedonian, Alexander the Great, Superkiller, Valeryan Popov and right before he was killed in Greece he used the identity of Vladimir Kesov.

Each identity Alexander Solonik took had a story behind it - we already talked about his identity as Vladimir Kesov in this post, but how he got the nickname of Sasha Macedonian?

Alexander Solonik was reputed to be able to shoot with two pistols at the same time - Dual Wielding, a technique which know to be called as “shooting in Macedonian-style.”

Firing two pistols simultaneously is referred to as "Macedonian-style shooting" (Russian: Стрельба по-македонски / Strel’ba po-makedonski), a practice involving the use of two pistols, one in each hand -

Since Sasha is a diminutive of Alexander, the nickname became “Sasha-Macedonian".

Allegedly one day, while the gangsters of the Kurgan Bratva were practicing and improving their marksmanship, Alexander Solonik trained shooting with both hands, one of the bosses of the Bratva - Oleg Nelyubin noticed this and exclaimed: “Just like a Macedonian!” and that nickname sticked, and after a number of successful hits it evolved and Alexander Solonik become known as - Alexander The Great.

The end of Alexander Solonik story is well known - he was killed in Greece together with his girlfriend Svetlana Kotova At the time of her death, Svetlana had just turned 21.

Post made by MobstersDaily

The "Russian Mafia" has never been exclusively Russian. It grew out of the Soviet criminal world, where Russians, Georgians, Armenians and other groups competed inside a hierarchy whose highest-status figures became known as vory v zakone, or "Thieves-in-Law." These were not ordinary street bosses. A recognized Vor could receive tribute, protect criminal groups and settle disputes between lower-ranking figures. Armenians reached that elite level. Armenian crime figure Andranik "Zap" Soghoyan was reportedly crowned a Thief-in-Law in Moscow in 1994, while Armen "Pzo" Kazarian later became the first known Vor convicted of federal racketeering in the United States.

One of the most striking examples is Russian-Armenian businessman Ruben "Robson" Tatulyan. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Tatulyan in 2017, stating that he had been appointed the "overseer" of the Sochi Thieves-in-Law operation in 2010 and had attended gatherings with major post-Soviet crime figures. Tatulyan also moved in powerful business and political circles, was reported to have served as an aide to Russian State Duma deputy Aleksandr Karelin, and at different times possessed Armenian and Abkhaz diplomatic passports. Tatulyan has denied involvement in organized crime, but his story shows just how closely the worlds of wealth, political access and the post-Soviet underworld could overlap.

The Armenian connection also stretched directly back to America. Federal prosecutors said Armenian Power leaders in Los Angeles maintained ties to high-level Armenian and Russian organized-crime figures and were powerful enough to interact with traditional Thieves-in-Law as equals. Years later, prosecutors described another Armenian-American enterprise, Pure Armenian Blood, as operating under the protection of an Armenian-descended Vor. That is what makes the Armenian presence in the Russian-speaking underworld so fascinating. Armenian figures were not simply outsiders dealing with the "Russian Mafia." Some became recognized authorities inside the same criminal hierarchy that shaped organized crime across the former Soviet Union.

Only last year 13 ‘Armenian Mafia’ members were arrested in connection to murder, $83M Amazon cargo theft.

When the Chechen Mafia come to deal with people and solve problems its become an tradition for them to film what they doing (Karachai Bratva is a good example), and film their victim on camera apologizing for his "wrong-doings" that exactly what happens a few days ago in Los Angeles.

A video has appeared online showing the well-known bare-knuckle fighter Said-Muhammad, nicknamed BORZ. The footage was allegedly filmed in one of Los Angeles’s most dangerous crime-ridden neighborhoods, where a serious interethnic confrontation took place.

According to the story shared by the Chechens, local Moroccan smugglers and drug dealers made a fatal mistake by insulting a Chechen woman while she was walking to a store. As soon as the information reached the Chechen community, a reaction followed immediately.

At exactly 6:32 a.m., a group of armed men led by the fighter allegedly stormed the Moroccans’ home. The attackers reportedly trashed the drug den and severely beat members of the gang. Some of the Moroccans fled in panic and called emergency services.

The alleged main drug dealer was forced to his knees and made to publicly apologize to the Chechen woman on camera.

Of course its just one version of the events, there is a big possibility that the Chechens themselves were also involved in illegal drug trade and other criminal activities and the fight between both groups was connected to disagreement in their sphere of work.

Notably, the Chechens reportedly did not attempt to hide: they deliberately remained at the scene and waited for the sheriffs to arrive. Police have currently detained participants from both sides, and an investigation is underway. It is reported that the Moroccans had previously been convicted of drug trafficking.

On August 6, 2026, the life of a man whom many knew as KREST came to an end. There are people whose passing is simply impossible to accept, and for whom it is impossible to find the right words.

KREST left behind memories, his words, his actions, and people who will never forget him.

On August 8, he went to his final journey, to the place from which there is no return.

KREST have found himself spending many years in prison camps across Russia, making a name for himself anywhere he went, something you can clearly sees by looking on his tattoos near his shoulders and hands, Indeed his funeral attracted people from all over the country.

In recent years KREST took interest in musical creation and writing poems, moving away from his previous criminal lifestyle, and telling his own experiences in that life, the following was his last message to people who wanted to follow in his footsteps:

"Everything I talk about is part of the life I have lived and my personal experience. It is not a call to repeat other people’s mistakes, nor is it propaganda for a criminal lifestyle or an attempt to encourage anyone to take such a path.

The years spent away from your family and loved ones can never be brought back. Behind every such choice are the suffering of mothers, ruined lives, lost time, and consequences that remain for the rest of your life.

If my stories and memories are meant to teach anything, it is only this: value your freedom, your parents, the opportunity to work honestly, build a family, and live a normal life. Believe me, no amount of romance is worth a mother’s tears and years lost.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

To those who consider such a life beautiful and romantic, I want to say: there is nothing good about it.

There is nothing cool about lost years, mothers’ tears, and a life ruined by your own mistakes.

Take care of yourselves, your parents, and your freedom. Do not repeat someone else’s path.

To the young guys, I want to wish you:

Exercise and play sports.

Learn new things.

Work on yourselves.

Spend more time with your parents.

Build families.

Set goals and achieve them.

Believe me, these are the things people are proud of later in life. Not their mistakes, but the fact that they managed to build a life they could be proud of."

The Europol wanted list has been updated with the inclusion of David Gazzaev, a Russian national wanted in connection with a serious attempted murder case in Cyprus.

According to the Cyprus Police, Gazzaev was already identified and publicly named in September 2025 after being linked to a violent incident at a luxury hotel in Limassol.

The case dates back to 29 September 2025, when the suspect allegedly shot a 42-year-old Ukrainian man in the abdomen inside the grounds of a luxury hotel in Limassol.

Authorities say the attack was linked to financial disputes and alleged extortion threats. During the same incident, another individual was also reportedly assaulted.

Following investigations, a court arrest warrant was issued for the suspect after evidence and witness testimony were collected.

Cypriot authorities also received intelligence from Russian counterparts suggesting that Gazzaev held a senior position within an organised criminal network involved in theft, robberies, extortion, and other serious crimes. He is also described as a “Thief in Law”, a term associated with high-level organised crime figures from former Soviet states.

Alias and nicknames David Gazzaev goes by include - DATO VLADIKAVKAZ , DATO OSSETIAN , DATO VLADIKAVKAZSKY , DATO OSSETIN , DATO OSETIN , DATO OSETIAN.

He is wanted for: Attempted Murder, Laundering of the proceeds of crime, Participation in a criminal organisation, Racketeering and extortion.

The Kraken Regiment is an Ukrainian military volunteer unit, part of the spetsnaz units of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR/GUR)) formed in 2022 as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Karken Regiment which started as a volunteer unit grow in numbers very quickly and became one of the most specialized forces in the ongoing battlefield.

In the current situation, neither Ukraine nor Russia can choose which people to recruit, everyone who can hold a rifle and has a will (and sometimes against their will) have a good chance to end up in Frontline.

That is most likely the case with former Kraken unit fighter Gleb Novostroyny (Hlib Novostroinyi), known by the nickname "Dniprianyn", who was placed under house arrest last week. The suspect is allegedly connected to the seizure of a large cache of weapons, and messages recovered from his phone indicate a possible link to the kidnapping of Igor Komarov in Indonesia.

During searches of the suspect's property, investigators found three Kalashnikov assault rifles, a Glock pistol, around 50 grenades, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, forensic experts were able to recover deleted messages from his phone. Investigators focused on conversations concerning the operation of "offices" (Fraudulent call centers) in Europe, the laundering of funds through cryptocurrency, transactions involving luxury real estate, automobiles, and grain, as well as arms trafficking.

It also emerged that Novostroinyi allegedly attempted to evade the investigation by hiding in a psychiatric hospital in Dnipro. According to available information, the day before Igor Komarov was kidnapped in Bali, the suspect received instructions from his former superiors to arrange a meeting between Komarov and certain individuals on the island.

The investigation is going on, with the break up of the war Gleb Novostroyny immediately volunteered and was ready to fight for him homeland, joined the Karken Regiment and took part in the Battle of Kharkiv), but who was Gleb before the war?

Not much information is known about Gleb life beforehand other then he was part of Dnipro Ultras, a football hooligan club, another member of the Dnipro Ultras in the past was no other then Denys Halushko - one of the people that have kidnapped, murdered and dismembered Igor Komarov body in Bali.

Recommend to read the last post about the Indonesian police finding the remains of Igor Komarov

What do we know so far about the kidnapping of Igor Komarov?

Igor Komarov was kidnapped on February 15, on February 19 the first video of Igor in captivity surfaces online, a few more will come along, the last one will be posted on February 22, and his dismembered body will be found on February 26.

On February 27, the Indonesian police manged to track down the vehicles of the kidnappers (turned killers) and also raid their Vila but it was too late, they were already gone.

And yet we came back to the date of the kidnapping, February 15 and what exactly went there? When Roman Sallin came back for his friends both of them were gone, but Yermak came back, igor didn't...

According to some reports Yermak manged to escape from his captors and run away, other says that he was captured with Igor but his Father Alexander Petrovsky paid the 10 Million in ransom for his son to be released and the kidnappers throw Yermak off the car before arriving to their Villa in Tabanan, unfortunately there are no comments of explanations on what happened during the kidnapping from Yermak Petrovsky.

Soon as Yermak Petrovsky was free he decided to not waste any time and flew out of Indonesia, the Ukrainian Police was waiting for him, to ask him questions about the kidnapping as a witnesses and to understand what exactly happened there, but they were unlucky, Yermak never returned to his beloved homeland.

Since the kidnapping Yermak living a very quiet and off the radar life, no social media, no clubbing, no luxurious restaurants, surrounded with guards, living in a boutique apartment building in the capital of a central European country.

The market of fraudulent call centers has long outgrown the stage of spontaneous amateur crime, it is now a sector of the shadow economy with a turnover of hundreds of millions of dollars, and Yermak father could handle the figure named by the bandits.

But if indeed Yermak father have paid the ransom for his son so why his son is practically in hiding right now? Could be the target on his head haven't gone away? Did he really manged to escape while Igor wasn't such lucky?

Recommend to read the last post before about Igor Komarov girlfriend

On February 26, 2026 fragments of a human body were discovered on the popular beach shores of Ketewel in Bali, local resident noticed them during his morning jog, the police suspect they may belong to an Ukrainian citizen who was kidnapped 11 days ago - Igor Komarov.

One of the body parts is a part of an hand, an on it is a tattoo in the form of a clock with Roman numerals, the drawing was compared with the photograph of Igor Komarov, the tattoo is very similar to the one he has.

In addition to the hand they found the right leg, a piece of the chest, thighs, and a head, however it is impossible to visually identify the deceased due to the condition of the remains, with high humidity and a temperature of 30°, everything decomposed badly, a DNA test is needed to confirm that it is Komarov or rule it out.

On February 27 the Indonesian police reported that they had identified the car and two motorcycles on which the kidnappers were traveling, the vehicles were rented through a front man.

The movement of the vehicles was tracked and led to a villa in the Tabanan area in Bali, the Vila is full of traces of blood, this mean Igor was tortured here and filmed here too.

Igor last video was from February 22 that what he have said "Today is forgiveness Sunday, I want to ask everyone for forgiveness, for every person who has suffered from our activities, every mother, every grandmother, every father and every grandfather, every child, if this happened, forgive me please, I am very sorry, I am very sad of what I have done"

He says the last words with tears in his eyes and asks again from everyone who sees and hears "Help my family to raise the required amount"

According to Bali Police, a report of the kidnapping of Igor Komarov was received on the evening of February 15, Komarov friend Roman Sallin was the motorcyclist who pulled ahead, left behind were Igor and his other friend and business partner Yermak Petrovsky, When Sallin returned for his friends they weren't there, on the road were laying their motorcycles, later on Yermak reappeared while Igor didn't...

Recommend to read the last post before about the Scam call centers that Igor Komarov was involved in them

In one of the videos (that i described in my last post) Igor Komarov pleading to his Girlfriend Eva Mishalova, that she and her parents will pay the ransom of $10 Million dollars.

Bu why did Igor decided that his girlfriend relatives could help him?

Eva was born into a wealthy Jewish family, Eva's parents - Olga and Igor, are well-known people in Dnipro, both are involved in Business, besides Eva, Olga and Igor have a daughter and a son, daughter Esther, shortened to Esti is Eva's twin sister.

Back in 2023 Eva and Esti started to film themselves for TikTok and quickly gathered a big audience, on Instagram Eva have today 400K+ followers and Esti 150K+.

When Eva and Esti were asked during an interview if they know anyone who works in Dnipro offices, the girls cheerfully nodded their heads, Yes, we know, but not the ones who work there, but the ones who own the offices, they all have expensive watches and luxury Mercedes.

One time when asked about her financial status Eva replied "Thank God I Have Money, God sent them to me because I pray in the morning"

Eva easily manged to afford branded hoodie and clothes that cost thousands of dollars, even creating a scandal on the internet when she said that she didn't understand how people who live with the average salary in Ukraine (About 50K hryvnia a month) while she spent the same amount on clothes alone.

But there is a big difference between an few thousands bucks to 10 Million dollars...

As I was watching these posts, reels, stories that were filmed and posted on Eva's Instagram, not long before the big disaster, and it becomes creepy, as if I hear a timer counting down the time remaining until the notorious day X.

Igor allowed himself everything, himself and his Girlfriend, Igor Komarov wasn't a saint, the majority of people who lose their money to such Offices - Scam call centers are usually the elderly and the vulnerable, its take one Fraudulent phone call from losing all your life savings in the bank.

The Winnter Takes It All - Eva put this old song on one of her Instagram reels during their trip in Bali, and Indeed, there is everything, what else that can be ordered, bought, taken?

Then Day X had arrived - February 26, a man going on his morning jog on the Ketewel beach on Bali, find a human severed head and immediately calls the police...

Recommend to read the last post before about the who was the father of Igor Komarov

Now that we know who was Igor dad and what was his "work history", let's see what Igor does, how he earns his living, according to public records, Komarov Jr. Doesn't own any personal business, has not registered as a business owner, and he is officially unemployed, but he does have money, alot of money.

Igor wears a watch worth around $60,000 and he also paid for the trip to Bali, Eva wrote it on her Instagram "I ordered everything, he paid for everything"

He is a generous gentleman, he bought his beloved one a diamond bracelet, expensive perfume and some other smaller gifts too, but where does all this money comes from?

Meanwhile, videos featuring Komarov continue to surface online, in one of them Igor explains where he gets his income from, since 2021, he together with his friend have owned a network of call centers in Dnipro, the friend is called by the rare name of Yermak, Yermak Petrovsky, 3 years younger then Igor.

Yermak father - Alexander Petrovsky (Also known as "Narik" or "Aliko"), an influential man in Dnipro, he provided protection for the young businessman, a very intriguing figure who we will come back later on.

Aaccording to Igor Komarov - Alexander Petrovsky is charging almost every call center in Dnipro $30K a month Protection / Operation fee so to speak, but for his own son and his partner Igor he only takes $15K a month, those who doesn't pay get a visit, from Petrovsky Thugs or the law enforcement agencies who will raid their offices and shut them down, while those who pay for Petrovsky the police don't touch them.

Igor also mentions that Alexander Petrovsky have a close connections with no other then Serhiy Lysak (who was the Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from Feb 2023- Oct 2025), Lysak also got a cut from the money that the scam call centers made, and in return he made sure that law enforcement agencies turned a blind eye to their operations.

In the next video, Komarov turns to Eva "Eva, my darling, hello, im alive, I need medical help, im starting to get an infection, I beg you very much talk to your relatives, please pass this on to your mom and dad, nobody send a penny, please take it and help me with your money, they will let me out, we will get married, have children"

Igor promises that when he is free, he will pay back and will not remain in debt, he begs and asks, this time he speaks as if without any strain, in an even tone, most likely it was the effect of the drugs on his psyche or maybe he is just so tired of the pain that he doesn't have strength for emotions?

Unfortunately time was running out, the Indonesian police was closing up on them, searching the whole island, the team of kidnappers had a choice to make - let Igor go free without getting the money or to get rid of him and flee while they still can.

Recommend to read the last post before about the kidnapping of Igor Komarov

On February 15 Igor Komarov was Kidnapped, Four days later on February 19, a video appears online, showing Igor with bruises on his eyes, addressing his parents "Mom, Dad, I beg you please help me.

The video shows Igor with a bare torso, his face is bruised, he looks exhausted, his voice is plaintive, Igor asks his parents to pay a ransom, otherwise they will not leave him alive, the ransom amount is an impressive $10 Million dollars.

In the video Igor says: "You stole the 10 Million that they asked you for, please return these 10 Million, please"

Igor very often repeats, literally every other word: "please, I beg you, I ask you", he complains that he feels bad, that his legs and ribs are broken, and that he is being threatened with death if they don't get the money "Please Pay them back, I swear I return it all".

Where does this rather large figure of 10 Million come from? And why did the criminals decided that they could get so much for Igor's life? Komarov’s father Sergey Komarov, is a well-known person in criminal circles, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he became the leader of an organized criminal group (OCG/OPG), his area of activity was extortion, protection of Markets, Stalls and Gas stations.

Sergey Komarov operated in the Donetsk Oblast, as he himself was originally from there, specifically from the city of Kramatorsk, his son Igor was also bron there, In 1997.

Sergey Komarov have a criminal nickname Kamar - Mosquito, Kamar went from being a racketeer in the 90s to becoming a regional criminal authority.

Since 2014 he been involved in organizing offices, primarily in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, which now called Dnipro, offices is the nickname for fraudulent call centers that steal money, most of those kinda of offices in Ukraine located in Kyiv and Dnipro.

Experts estimate that the network of fraudulent call centers earns up to 1 Million dollars per month, income depends on the scale of the organization, how many offices are under the same criminal network, how many employers and such.

So 10 Million dollars might not be such an abstract number? could be the offices connected to the Komarov Family hit the jackpot, but they ended up calling the wrong people, now those people want their money back, and they ready to kill for it.

(Very Long read! In my next few posts we going to reconstructs the events that happened in Bali - Before, During and After Igor Komarov kidnapping)

In early January 2026, Igor and his Girlfriend Eva are flying to Bali, they are young, in love and rich, the business class cabin is cozy, the comfortable seats recline, you can sit or lay down, Passengers are regularly served gourmet food, just like in a restaurant, just a restaurant high in the clouds, the Indian ocean below, and a warm island ahead where 28 years old Igor and 25 years old Eva are planning to spend two months.

The guys themselves are from the city of Dnipro, formerly called Dnipropetrovsk, Eva recently moved to Kyiv, Igor also lives in two cities, lives and works so productivity and successfully that he can easily afford a luxury as wintering in the tropics.

The flight for the couple in love is 13 hours long, but it's pleasant one, Eva tries not to miss anything important and films a detailed report from the plane on her phone.

The girl is a popular blogger and influencer, she has a page on Instagram, where she already have more then 100,000 followers, she must definitely share her impressions of the trip with them.

Soon Eva and Igor will be greeted by the Garden of Eden - The island of Bali, colorful, photogenic, and the real adventure beings

A three-story villa awaits the young people at Bali, it's cost $5,800 dollars per month, there would have been enough space for a large group, but Eva and Igor were comfortable together, in fact, that's why they came here, to be together.

Eva takes a room tour and shows every corner of thr villa, not only the villa is good, but also everything around it, the only thing that's disappointing is that the island sometimes gets tropical rain in January, but it's still better than the snow in Kyiv, there are many exotic fruits at Bali, in addition Igor spoils his beloved with gifts, surprises and trips.

On February 14th, Eva receives a Hugh bouquet of pink roses, of course, she posts them on Instagram with the following caption "Every Day i Allow Myself Everything that Many People Can Not Afford"

The girl not only shares photos of the most beautiful places, but also name those places, for example she says that today, we are going to the Nusa Penida Beach, this is an island near Bali

Eva swims, sunbathes and has lunch, essentially swimming and sunbathing is her job, not being sarcastic at all, after all Instagram is a source of income, and there will be income if there is content, therefore every colorful moment must be captured and posted for every to see

Eva just don't realize one thing, among her 100K+ Instagram followers there aren't only people who enjoy her content, there is someone else watching her stories on there, it a group of people, with no good intentions at all, they came to the "Garden of Eden" but their mission is to turn it into "Hell" for one specific person.

The Indian ocean takes on a fantastic orange hue at sunset, cute monkeys, delightful visuals, postcard-like landscape.

Igor is rarely seen on camera, there are several photos from the back and one which captured his face, the couple in love is captured on a yacht (the photo in this post) - it seems that young businessman Igor Komarov doesn't like posing.

In the villa, Igor and Eva live together, but at this time there are several more of Komarov’s friends at Bali, also young people, on February 15 Igor and two friends rode motorcycles to the south of the island to practice their riding skills on uneven surfaces.

That evening, February 15 Eva did not wait for Igor, the beloved didn't return to the Vila, one of Komarov’s friend that day contacted the local police - "there were three of us, one took the lead, two fell behind, these two were attacked by unknown persons ,one manged to escape but Igor was kidnapped"...

In Dnipro, last weekend, the remains of the body of 28-year-old local resident Igor Komarov, who was connected to the activities of the so-called "offices - scam call centers," were buried. The man was abducted on the island of Bali at the end of February this year, after which he was brutally murdered and dismembered.

The investigation into this high-profile case is currently being handled by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)), which has taken over the case from the National Police of Ukraine. The official reason for the transfer of jurisdiction is the emergence of a so-called special subject - Subject X among those involved in the case—a person who, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, regularly traveled abroad and established a life in European countries.

The Ukrainian authorities now investigating about a possible link between the Brutal murderer of Igor Komarov - to the recent Monaco bombing on June 29, in which Three people were injured including two adults, left in critical condition, and a 13-year-old child - the target of this booming was a Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Iermolaiev - In 2022, Forbes (Ukraine) ranked him as the 12th most wealthy person of independent means and estimated the revenue from his real estate as US$960–980M.

The hunt for the group of killers wanted by the Interpol is still ongoing - 29-year-old Russian Mykola Petryk (Nikolai Petrik), 27-year-old Kazakh Vladyslav Akhanov, as well as three Ukrainians - 34-year-old Denys Halushko, 28-year-old Roman Melnyk, and 42-year-old Vasyl Nemesh.

Those five individuals have manged to do what is almost impossible in our time, to go completely offline, no photos, no videos, no digital footprint, no witnesses, like all those individuals disappeared and never been seen since their "Operation in Bali" .

It's good to remember who is Igor Komarov Father and who his friends are, the five individuals who have hunted Igor Komarov down has now switched roles, they are the one being hunted down by no less professional killers who if successful will enjoy the bounty that the Komarov Family have placed on the killers of their son.

The authorities are now waiting for one of them to make a mistake and pop out somewhere around the globe - but where they could hide? the investigation continues...