Between 2003 and 2016, the Common Fund was dominated by Nikolai Tarankov (1953–2016)[1] of Russian heritage and KGB training.
[6] In 2005, the Estonian Central Criminal Police noticed a decline in revenues of the Common Fund, leading to the capture of several high-ranking members.
[citation needed] Estonian police have been successful in disrupting the operations of the Obshchak by arresting their high-ranking members since at least the 2010s.
One of the kingpins, Assar Paulus, was convicted in 2016 for founding a criminal organization and funding drug trafficking.
The mafia got its income through illegal debt collection using methods like extortion, tax fraud, drug trafficking, and violent crimes.