Former professional kickboxer Ion Șoltoianu was arrested again. This time the member of the criminal organization “Patron” is suspected of extorting over 5 million lei from an-ex fellow inmate, IPN reports.

The victim, 45, is from Chisinau. When he started to be blackmailed, he was serving time for swindle, while Șoltoianu was serving time for murder. Șoltoianu, 55, had extorted over 5 million lei since 2019, while he was in jail.

According to the General Police Inspectorate, the blackmail continued after the two were released from jail. Șoltoianu threatened the victim and his family with the use of violence and with death, asserting that he will be helped by members of national and foreign criminal organizations and their leaders.

After the victim denounced the ex-athlete, the police carried out searches at his home and then arrested him. He is to be indicted and remanded in custody.

Șoltoianu was also accused of ill-treating a man from Botanica district of Chisinau who was walking his dog, in March 2022. The court obliged him to pay a fine of 1,500 lei, but the sentence was challenged by prosecutors. The Chisinau Appeals Court is to take a decision.

Earlier, Ion Șoltoianu was sentenced to 14 years in jail for murder, blackmail and illegal keeping of arms. The Moldovan kickboxer was accused of killing police officer Ion Stratulat in September 2011, at a terrace in central Chisinau Ion Șoltoianu served eight years in jail and was set free after amendments to the Penal Procedure Code took effect on January 1, 2019. Under the amendments, the persons held in inhuman or degrading conditions for at least ten days could ask for a reduction in the jail term or for damages.