Former WBO champ with ties to ‘Russian crime syndicate’ in New York denied bail

Avtandil Khurtsidze, a Georgian boxer arrested for alleged ties to a Russian crime syndicate in New York, has been denied bail after being charged with charged with racketeering conspiracy.

The boxer was one of 33 criminals arrested in a crackdown effort that saw the U.S. Justice Department target the crime syndicate known as the Shulaya Enterprise, an “organized criminal group operating under the direction and protection of Razhden Shulaya.” According to a press release published by the U.S. Justice Department, unsealed documents showed that Khurtsidze was charged with racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud “in connection with their plot to defraud casinos through the use of electronic devices and software designed to predict the behavior of particular models of electronic ‘slot’ machines, thereby removing the element of chance from play of those machines.”

It added that 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.”

Khurtsidze was not the only athlete arrested on suspicion of being a member of the Shulaya Enterprise. Former UFC fighter Levan Makashvili was arrested in June 2017 but was granted bail by a New York court later that same month. Khurtsidze’s charges were even more serious, as he was charged with conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Prior to his arrest, Khurtsidze was the reigning WBO International interim world champion. He was scheduled to compete against British boxer Billy Joe Saunders for world championship in July 2017 in London, but the fight was canceled because of the arrest. The WBO has since stripped Khurtsidze of his title.