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Karim Zidan delves into the history of the Aikido Federation President who headed a gang of contract killers in Siberia.

Related Topics: Siberia, Kuznetsk Basin

For five years, Andrey Sinyukov’s thugs murdered with impunity.

It began in 2010, when Sinyukov, then the incumbent president of the Aikido Federation in Kuzbass, established an organized crime group comprised of athletes he trained and trusted. The group operated within the Kuznetsk Basin in southwestern Siberia, Russia, and quickly began to extort victims. Over time, the entity expanded into racketeering, money-laundering, and blackmail, the latter of which allowed the group to gain access to several commercial ventures.

With each successful gambit, the gang’s reputation swelled and their brutality rose. Sinyukov established extensive contacts in the underworld, both locally and abroad.