GSP’s former coach accused of money laundering, drug trafficking

Victor Vargotskii, a former kick-boxer from Ukraine, has been charged with conspiracy by the RCMP.

According to the Montreal Gazette Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers raided a number of locations in Quebec and Ontario this week as part of Project Collector, a multi-year investigation into international money-laundering.

The RCMP stated that the targets of Project Collector are responsible for an alleged scheme that, since 2013, is suspected of collecting money from criminal groups in Montréal, The alleged money laundering ring is accused of then trafficking those profits through individuals and currency exchanges in Toronto (with connections to Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, the United States, and China), and finally sending the funds to drug exporters in Colombia and Mexico.

According to CTV News the raids resulted in the seizure of $2.2 million ($1.7 million US) worth of cannabis, cocaine, hashish, and methamphetamines, $8.7 million ($6.6 million US) worth of foreign cash and bank accounts, and six properties worth $15 million ($11.3 million US).

The RCMP’s official website listed the names of 14 individuals arrested as part of their investigation. It also listed four individuals who are currently at-large and wanted for their alleged role in the operation.

All the accused face charges of conspiracy, possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, instructing the commission of an offence for a criminal organization, trafficking in property obtained by crime, and laundering proceeds of crime.

One of the wanted men, claimed to be part of the scheme’s Quebec cell, is Victor Vargotskii, 56, of Montréal.

Vargotskii, whose name is sometimes spelled Vargotski or Vargotsky, is a former Tristar kickboxing coach who once worked with former UFC champion, and MMA icon, Georges St-Pierre.

A Montreal Gazette article from March 4th, 2006 — titled ‘A Quebec athlete few Quebecers have heard of’ — named Vargotskii (spelled Vargotsky here) as St-Pierre’s ‘corner-man’ and a Tristar instructor. Vargotskii is also described as “a former kickboxing champion from Ukraine” who is also “an ex-Soviet Union special forced sniper who served in Afghanistan during the 1980s.”

Vargotskii was also featured in the UFC’s All Access program in 2007. He was shown training St-Pierre ahead of his UFC welterweight title defense versus Matt Serra at UFC 69. “When I go to back to my corner I am more afraid of my corner-man than my opponent,” joked St-Pierre in the video, referring to Vargotskii.

After he lost his title to Matt Serra, The Globe and Mail reported that St-Pierre decided to switch kickboxing coaches from Vargotskii to Phil Nurse. After that loss St-Pierre also changed management teams, made Firas Zahabi his head trainer, and began cross-training with Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, NM.