The Presnensky District Court of Moscow sentenced blogger Guseyn Gasanov in absentia to four years in a general-regime penal colony on a money laundering charge, the Moscow prosecutor's office said. The court also fined him 1 million rubles.
According to investigators, between 2019 and 2021, Gasanov, who had individual entrepreneur status, failed to pay more than 170 million rubles in taxes. The prosecutor's office believes he legalized more than 68 million rubles of that amount through financial transactions and real estate deals, including the purchase of a property at 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proyezd in Moscow.
The prosecutor's office said the illegally obtained property was turned over to state revenue. The court also barred Gasanov from administering websites for two years.
The tax inspectorate filed claims against the blogger in summer 2024, seeking to recover 112 million rubles from him. Gasanov paid the debt, after which the proceedings were dropped. On social media, the blogger said that "all tax issues were closed last year."
In May 2025, the Moscow prosecutor's office said the blogger had failed to pay 170 million rubles in taxes. A criminal case was opened, the court arrested Gasanov in absentia, and the Interior Ministry put him on the wanted list.
Gasanov became famous in 2017–2018 for making videos in the "vine" format. In 2018, he appeared on Putin's annual live call-in show, where, "on behalf of the internet community and opinion leaders," he asked about possible blockings of Instagram and YouTube. In 2021, the blogger launched a course called "Millionaire Mindset," after which several high-profile exposés were published about him, and later Yekaterina Mizulina took an interest in him.
In February 2025, Gasanov left Russia; he was arrested in absentia and put on the international wanted list. According to media reports, he is currently in the UAE. Also living there is blogger Inna Tliashinova, who was arrested in absentia in 2025 and has similar content — she called herself a "quantum psychologist" and "star coach." In Russia, she is on trial for tax evasion of 431 million rubles.