On October 12, the Vladivostok Leninsky court sentenced undefeated MMA fighter Bagama Nikabagamaev to 10 years on charges of extortion under threat of violence on an especially large scale.
According to the Prosecutor's Office in Primorsky region (h/t CrimeRussia), the fighter will serve a decade in prison and also has to pay a fine of 100 thousand rubles ($1588 USD) for Extortion committed in order to obtain property on a large scale (item (b), part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code). Nikabagamaev demanded more than 6 million rubles from a resident of Primorye back in 2013, which caused the victim to report the ongoing extortion to the police. When the victim arrived at a meeting with the fighter to give him the first installment of cash, officers of the Ministry of Internal Affair and the FSB were watching carefully.
Nikabagamaev’s capture by FSB officers can be seen below:
Nikabagamaev, a 13-0 fighter who competed for the Far Eastern Federation of Modern Pankration (FEFoMP), is believed to have been part of a criminal group that trafficked in drugs and weapons, as well as extortion. Police later seized a laboratory where drugs were being “cultivated” and produced for trafficking purposes. 800 cannabis plants were seized as well. Nikabagamaev himself evaded arrest on numerous counts and later earned the reputation as an “invincible” criminal. However, in July 2013, the fighter was finally captured.