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'Leader of Russian Criminal World' Sentenced to Nearly a Decade Behind Bars

Andrei Nikerichev / Moskva News Agency

A notorious Russian criminal boss has been sentenced to almost a decade in prison on charges of extortion after a deadly shootout outside a Moscow restaurant in 2015. 

Zakhar Kalashov, also known as “Young Shakro,” was arrested in June 2016 on charges of extorting money from the owner of a Moscow restaurant after a violent shootout left two people dead in December 2015. Prosecutors sought a 10-year sentence in a high-security penal colony for Young Shakro. His arrest led to the detentions of seven Investigative Committee employees, including a newly-appointed senior investigator accused of taking a massive bribe to help Young Shakro quash his extortion investigation.

A Moscow city judge ruled Kalashov guilty of extortion and sentenced him to nine years and 10 months in a maximum security penal colony, the Moskva news agency reported on Thursday.

According to the RBC business daily, the indictment named Young Shakro the “leader of the Russian criminal world” at the helm of a multi-layered criminal structure. 

Prosecutors sought a 10-year sentence in a high-security penal colony for Young Shakro.

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