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Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov

Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov is a Russian businessman and former amateur footballer who was accused in the United States of bribing figure skating judges at the 2002 Winter Olympics and of running an illegal gambling ring.

born 19492002 Winter Olympics skating bribery accusationsFBI illegal gambling ring indictmentThe nickname Taiwanchik

Born: 1 January 1949, Tashkent
Occupation: entrepreneur, actor, businessperson, athlete

Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov was born in 1949 in Tashkent

Tokhtakhunov was born in 1949 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, to a Uyghur family. As a young man he played amateur football, including for the junior team of Pakhtakor. An attempt to continue at CSKA Moscow did not succeed, and he stopped playing.

He was imprisoned twice for parasitism, in 1972 and in 1985. In 1989 he moved to Germany and became a citizen of Israel. In the early 1990s he settled in Paris, and after France refused to renew his residence permit he moved to Italy.

In 2002 he was accused of bribing figure skating judges at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was arrested in Italy at the request of the United States, but an Italian court rejected extradition and he was freed. He then moved to Russia.

In 2013 he was charged in the United States with running an illegal gambling ring, as part of an FBI case that led to the indictment of more than 30 people. He avoided arrest and lives in Lapino, west of Moscow. As of 2022 the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $4 million for information leading to his arrest.