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Tariel Oniani
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A reputed Georgian mafia boss linked to last year's slaying of Russian mafia boss Vyacheslav Ivankov was sentenced Monday to 10 years in a maximum-security prison on charges of kidnapping and extortion.
Moscow’s Khamovnichesky District Court ruled that Tariel Oniani, 51, also known as Tariel Mulukhov, kidnapped Georgian-born businessman Johnny Manadze in Moscow in March 2009 and demanded a ransom of $500,000 from his relatives.
His associates, Sergei Abutidze, 43, and Alexei Zubarev, 23, were sentenced to nine and six years, respectively, in a maximum-security prison on similar charges. Oniani and Abutidze were also fined a combined 7 million rubles ($230,000), Interfax reported.
Oniani greeted the verdict with profanities and promised to appeal, the report said.
Oniani, who is said to have extensive ties with members of Georgia's political and business elite, was forced to flee the country with many other reputed Georgian mobsters after President Mikheil Saakashvili declared war on Georgia's criminal world in 2004.
Media reports have implicated Oniani in orchestrating a contract hit on Ivankov, or Yaponchik, who was shot by a sniper outside a Moscow cafe in July 2009 and died of complications of his injuries in a hospital three months later.
Oniani is also wanted by Spanish prosecutors, who have repeatedly requested his extradition on charges of money laundering and organizing a criminal gang.
Russian officials have not indicated whether Oniani might be extradited, but they have said he holds only Georgian citizenship. Russian law does not allow the extradition of Russian citizens.
In November, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law under which mafia bosses, popularly known as thieves-in-law, can be jailed just for admitting their status. Underworld tradition dictates that thieves-in-law never hide their status from anyone, including law enforcement officials.
