The case of Nikita Yefremov. How a sneaker seller got a criminal sentence

Blogger Nikita Yefremov (listed as an extremist and terrorist by Rosfinmonitoring) was sentenced to three years of probation. He was accused of financing extremist activities through money transfers to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK, recognized as an extremist organization, a foreign agent and banned in the Russian Federation). Yefremov is known as the creator of branded shoe stores and was accused of selling fake sneakers. The details of the criminal case can be found in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the case

• A criminal case was opened against Nikita Yefremov, a blogger and entrepreneur (the namesake of the famous actor), under Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code ("Financing extremist activities"). It provides for responsibility for collecting funds or providing financial services intended either to finance an organization, prepare and commit at least one extremist crime, or to provide for an extremist community or organization.

On December 10, the Khimki City Court found Yefremov guilty of a violation, for which he faced imprisonment for a term of three to eight years. He was sentenced to three years of suspended imprisonment with a probation period of three years. The verdict has not yet entered into force.

• The reason for the charges was that Yefremov, while in Moscow and the Moscow region, made seven non-cash transfers to FBK from August 2021 to February 2022. In June 2021, the organization was recognized as extremist and liquidated by a decision of the Moscow City Court. The total amount of transfers from Efremov was 7 thousand rubles. During the trial, the blogger stated that he partially admits guilt. He noted that FBK learned about the ban only during the investigative actions.

• Yefremov was detained on August 16 at Sheremetyevo Airport upon arrival from Turkey, where he was vacationing with blogger and model Dina Sayeva. As a preventive measure, the Ostankino District Court of Moscow ordered him to ban certain actions.

The Fake Sneakers Scandal

• Efremov gained fame as the founder of the Nikita Efremov brand sneaker resale chain. He owned showrooms in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Dubai. Yefremov's stores, which also sold clothes and accessories of famous brands, were popular among the stars of show business, among his customers were Olga Buzova, Egor Creed, Regina Todorenko.

• In October 2023, law enforcement agencies received information that counterfeit products were being sold in Yefremov's stores. In a statement on behalf of a certain Vladimir Izhmukov, it was said that the sale was being conducted without the appropriate documents and the "Honest Sign" label. Boutiques in Moscow and St. Petersburg were closed for inspection.

• Yefremov denied the charges and threatened to file a libel lawsuit. Two months later, it became known that the check did not confirm the suspicion of forgery. A commodity examination conducted with Nike, Adidas and "Revenge" brand sneakers found no signs of counterfeit. The criminal case that threatened Yefremov was not initiated.

• In January 2025, it became known that Yefremov was no longer involved in the management of the network and was not listed as its owner. Since then, the new owners have been rebranding the stores, and in September, after the blogger's arrest, they announced the closure of outlets in Russia and the sale of goods.

What else is known about the blogger

• Yefremov was born on December 12, 1999, into a family of former military personnel who went into business. His mother was involved in the sale of real estate in the UAE. In his youth, he studied at an English school, graduated from a Russian school with an external degree, and graduated from MGIMO with a degree in international law.

• Yefremov started reselling sneakers in 2016, initially specializing in Kanye West's Yeezy brand. Later, he expanded the range with limited collections of other leading sports shoe brands. The cost of some sneakers in Efremov's stores reached one million rubles, which attracted attention to his boutiques.

• Yefremov also promoted his store network through a video blog on YouTube. More than 670,000 users of the platform have subscribed to it. Yefremov published reviews of new sneakers and sold shoes to celebrities on the air. He is also a collector of NFT art, the total value of his assets reaches $600 thousand.