Boldov reports fresh court refusal to return seized air rifles

World air-rifle champion Nikolai Boldov said on October 15 that the Moscow City Court had again refused to return rifles seized by customs. He plans to challenge the decision in cassation.

Four air rifles and thirty tins of pellets were seized from Boldov on October 1, 2023, as he returned from a competition in the United States. He was accused of failing to declare goods under Part One of Article Sixteen Point Two of Russia's Administrative Offences Code.

Boldov challenged the original rulings up to the Supreme Court. In a decision dated August 10, 2026, it ordered a fresh appeal hearing. The shooter told RIA Novosti the outcome of the renewed proceedings.

His lawyers said optical sights worth about seven hundred and twenty thousand rubles had also been seized but were not listed in the seizure records. They requested their return, arguing that the sights were not items involved in the offence and had been supplied by a manufacturer for competitions. According to Boldov, the sights were not returned either.

Boldov previously said he spent about one and a half million rubles of family funds assembling a rifle of comparable quality. In 2025, he set a new world record at a competition in the United States.