Most-wanted crime boss Yusif Aliyev detained in Russia's St. Petersburg after 22 years

Notorious crime boss Yusif Aliyev has been detained in Russia's St. Petersburg city after being wanted for 22 years on charges including murder, extortion, and drug trafficking.

Several days ago, law enforcement detained 54-year-old Yusif Aliyev in St. Petersburg, News.Az reports, citing Kommersant newspaper.

According to a source in the city’s Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that Aliyev had been on an international wanted list since 2004 on charges including the murder of two or more people.

He held the status of 'crime boss' and was known by the nickname "Yusuf Bakinsky."

 

The arrest took place on the morning of June 9 in a residential building on Makarov Embankment. Serious charges have been brought against Aliyev, including occupying a high position in a criminal hierarchy, which could carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

On June 11, the Vasileostrovsky District Court ordered Yusif Aliyev to be remanded in custody, where he will await a decision on extradition to his home country. His detention has been set until July 18, 2026, according to the United Press Service of City Courts.

Aliyev reportedly had no legal residence permit or official employment in Russia and was considered to be staying in the country illegally. He objected to the arrest and claimed he was not in hiding, but the court rejected his statement.

Investigators allege that Aliyev, also known as “Ruslan Veliev,” was involved in several serious crimes. In August 1994, he was part of an armed group that kidnapped a man, tortured him for three days, and extorted $182,000. In February 1995, he allegedly took part in another attack that resulted in a ransom payment of $150,000.

Aliyev first came to the attention of Russian law enforcement in March 2009, when he was arrested alongside three other gang members in Moscow during a restaurant meeting. They were suspected of extortion and kidnapping. Among those detained were Azerbaijani crime group leaders Alibala Gamidov and Mamed Huseynov, as well as Georgian-born Teimuraz Faroyan. However, shortly after his arrest, Aliyev was released and went into hiding.

During that earlier arrest, authorities found a passport in the name of “Ruslan Veliyev,” which was later determined to be counterfeit. Investigators said the document had been purchased for about two thousand dollars from the head of a passport department in North Ossetia. Despite this, Aliyev was released and subsequently disappeared from public view.

Information published on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan in 2009 stated that Yusif Aliyev, born in 1971, was wanted under Articles 70 (banditry), 120 (illegal imprisonment), 145 (robbery), and 146 (extortion by intimidation) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. It said he was detained in Moscow and that extradition procedures were being prepared.

An article published in Novaya Gazeta in 2010 reported that Aliyev lived in Russia using a fake passport under the name Ruslan Veliyev and frequently visited upscale restaurants in Moscow and St. Petersburg. He reportedly traveled in an armored Land Cruiser with a Supreme Court document displayed on the windshield. According to Russian law enforcement intelligence, he was also suspected of controlling drug shipments from Azerbaijan to Russia via truck drivers.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev