Dubai-Based Instagram Influencer Faces Major Tax Evasion Charges in Russia

On Wednesday, Russian law enforcement officials announced that a social media influencer specializing in self-help courses on Instagram is facing charges of tax evasion.

Inna Tliashinova reportedly owes the government 431 million rubles (equivalent to $5.3 million) in unpaid taxes and penalties that accumulated between 2020 and 2022, as stated by the Moscow branch of the Investigative Committee of Russia, which handles serious criminal cases.

The authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Tliashinova, and investigators intend to request that a judge allow her arrest in absentia.

The 43-year-old Tliashinova, who claims to reside in Dubai, could face a maximum sentence of three years in prison in Russia for tax evasion, and up to seven years for money laundering.

An extradition agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Russia was established in 2014.

As reported by the exiled media outlet Mediazona, Tliashinova is at least the fifth Russian influencer and life coach to face tax evasion charges since the beginning of 2023. She promotes herself as a “subconsciousness expert” and offers courses aimed at healing negative familial patterns and “activating sexual energy to effortlessly attract money and gifts.”

Mediazona also noted that Tliashinova claims to hail from the Rostov region in southern Russia, is a mother of four, and is the author of educational projects pertaining to the subconscious that boast a turnover of 200 million rubles (around $2.5 million).

In early 2022, the Federal Tax Service of Russia began investigating influencers who evade taxes on income exceeding 150 million rubles (approximately $1.8 million), coinciding with the launch of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Following the invasion, Russia labeled the U.S. social media company Meta—owner of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp—as “extremist” and subsequently banned it.

Despite this ban, many Russians continue to access Instagram and Facebook using VPNs.