One UFC fighter, a professional boxer, and over 30 other people have been arrested in connection to organized crime.
Levan Makashvili, a former UFC featherweight, was arrested for racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud.
Makashvili fought two times in the UFC. In 2015, he lost a decision to featherweight contender Hacran Dias. In 2016, he fought Damon Jackson to a draw.
Since leaving the UFC, Makashivili has gone on a four-fight win streak. His most recent fights have been in the Fight Nights Global promotion in Russia.
Among those arrested were professional boxer Avtandil Khurtsidze, who was scheduled to fight for the WBO middleweight title in July. However, that fight has now been postponed.
The U.S Department of Justice sent out a press release involving these arrests.
The Shulaya Enterprise was an organized criminal group operating under the direction and protection of RAZHDEN SHULAYA a/k/a “Brother,” a/k/a “Roma,” a “vor v zakonei” or “vor,” which are Russian phrases translated roughly as “thief-in-law” or “thief,” and which refer to an order of elite criminals from the former Soviet Union who receive tribute from other criminals, offer protection, and use their recognized status as vor to adjudicate disputes among lower-level criminals. As a vor, SHULAYA had substantial influence in the criminal underworld and offered assistance to and protection of the members and associates of the Shulaya Enterprise. Those members and associates, and SHULAYA himself, engaged in widespread criminal activities, including acts of violence, extortion, the operation of illegal gambling businesses, fraud on various casinos, identity theft, credit card frauds, and trafficking of large quantities of stolen goods.
The Shulaya Enterprise comprised groups of individuals, often with overlapping members or associates, dedicated to particular criminal tasks. While many of these crews were based in New York City, the Shulaya Enterprise had operations in various locations throughout the United States (including in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Nevada) and abroad. Most members and associates of the Shulaya Enterprise were born in the former Soviet Union and many maintained substantial ties to Georgia, the Ukraine, and the Russian Federation, including regular travel to those countries, communication with associates in those countries, and the transfer of criminal proceeds to individuals in those countries.
