The court commuted the sentence of Ayaz Shabutdinov in the case of fraud

The Moscow city court reduced by one year the sentence of blogger and business coach Ayaz Shabutdinov, sentenced to seven years in prison for fraud, told RBC the press service of the court.

“The judicial panel on criminal cases checked the materials of the case and, taking into account the argument of appeals on voluntary compensation for material damage, changed the sentence in terms of punishment, reducing it to 6 years, while the amount of the fine remained unchanged,” the court said.

Shabutdinov is the founder of “Like Center”, a “technological educational company for entrepreneurs”, as well as the chain of hostels Like Hostel and coffee bars Coffee Like. On Instagram (owned by Meta, whose activities in Russia are recognized as extremist and banned) Shabutdinov has 2 million followers.

Shabutdinov offered to buy trainings, webinars and courses and assured that his clients will be able to start a successful business and get a guaranteed super-income.

The blogger will serve his sentence in a general regime colony.

The Presnensky court of Moscow on October 31, 2025 found Shabutdinov guilty of 113 episodes of fraud on an especially large scale committed by an organized group. He was sentenced to seven years in a general regime colony and a fine of 5 million rubles. The prosecution asked for eight years and a fine of 15 million rubles. The total damage, according to the investigation, exceeded 57 million rubles.

At the trial, Shabutdinov pleaded guilty and said that he had paid compensation to some victims who were ready to accept them.

While the blogger was in jail, hundreds of students of his courses asked to release Shabutdinov under personal guarantee.