Crime Boss Rashid Khachatryan Arrested in Kazan

Crime boss Rashid Khachatryan, also known as Rashid Jambulsky, has been arrested in Kazan. He is suspected of extorting money and has a history tied to organized crime. Previously, he was known as the 'watchman' of Orenburg's prison system.

According to reports from Business Online, details of the arrest are being kept secret. Sources indicate that Khachatryan, upon his release from a Krasnoyarsk penal colony in 2018, arrived in Tatarstan and demanded money from a local businessman.

The authorities have big plans regarding Jambulsky, as he is expected to face new charges under a recent article of the Criminal Code pertaining to the creation of an organized criminal association occupying a high position in a criminal hierarchy (Article 210, Part 4 of the Russian Criminal Code). This article was introduced to the Russian Criminal Code in April this year at the initiative of President Vladimir Putin.

Khachatryan may become the fourth Russian to be held accountable under this article. Previously, prominent crime figures, including one of the kings of Russia's ‘thieves’ world,’ Oleg 'Shishkana' Shishkanov, as well as Nikolay 'Tomsk' Kuzmichev and Kuzik Akhmed, have faced prosecution under it. The maximum penalty under this article ranges up to life imprisonment.

Khachatryan was born on August 13, 1966, in the Martakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh. He was first convicted in 1986. Originally nicknamed 'Ryukzak,' he later acquired the alias 'Rashid Jambulsky.' In 1996, he was sentenced to two years in prison for extortion and arbitrary actions in Orenburg. He was released in 1997 and crowned as a 'thief in law.' According to some sources, he was the 'watchman' of the Orenburg region's prison.

Subsequently, he formed a gang known as the 'Rashidovs,' composed primarily of Armenians, that was involved in extortion, fraud, murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and drug trafficking.

In 1999, there was an assassination attempt on him; his Kia Sportage was targeted by unknown assailants. The 'thief in law' sustained minor injuries to his right flank but refused hospitalization.

Khachatryan is currently located in a detention facility in Kazan.