Blogger and businessman Ayaz Shabutdinov called the arrest in a fraud case a misunderstanding and an “unhealthy signal” for business, Forbes writes.
Previously, Shabutdinov was sent to a pre-trial detention center until December 16. He was accused of committing eight crimes under the article on large-scale fraud committed by an organized group. The business coach did not admit his fault.
According to the prosecution, Shabutdinov and his accomplices, on behalf of controlled companies, including Like Center, sold courses, trainings and webinars, giving clients “false hope of creating a successful business and receiving excessive income.”
“We are an education company. We have a license from the Ministry of Education, accreditation from the Ministry of Digital Development as an IT company. Our programs were recommended by the Ministry of Economic Development,” Shabutdinov is quoted by his lawyer in the publication.
He added that the case was opened after complaints from eight former students of the Like Center to the authorities. They considered the company’s activities fraudulent.
Shabutdinov did not specify the names of the authors of the applications, but indicated that most of them completed the courses in 2019.
“I still do not believe it. The situation in which a criminal case is initiated based on the statements of eight people, some of whom were already investigated in 2019, seems absurd, despite the fact that the company has more than 50 thousand clients and has all the licenses and accreditations. ”said the blogger.
He called the actions of law enforcement agencies “a signal to all businessmen.”
The publication cites the story of one of the applicants, Natalya Kalistratova. According to the documents, she was promised “high results from the educational program” and she suffered damages estimated at 1.9 million rubles.
Kalistratova complained about the low effectiveness of the courses, but according to Shabutdinov, the complaints arose after he made a comment to the student about her careless attitude toward homework.
According to Shabutdinov’s calculations, around 124 lawsuits have been filed against the company’s legal entity since its creation in 2015.
The business advisor’s lawyer, Nikita Apalikov, called the arrest a legal misunderstanding.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
