Igor Runets, the founder of BitRiver, Russia’s biggest crypto mining firm, has been moved from house arrest to jail as he faces fraud charges totaling $12.5 million. Authorities accuse him of not delivering promised mining equipment to Infrastructure of Siberia, a subsidiary linked to his own business.
Details Behind the Fraud Charges
The criminal case revolves around an $8 million agreement signed in 2023 between Runets and Infrastructure of Siberia. Investigators say Runets failed to fulfill the contract, leading to losses of about 1 billion rubles. Prior to this, Runets was under scrutiny for tax evasion and was detained earlier this year over those allegations.
BitRiver's Struggles Amid Sanctions and Legal Woes
BitRiver was a pioneer in Russian cryptocurrency mining, running 15 Siberian data centers with more than 175,000 servers. However, a six-year ban on mining in multiple Russian regions forced major operational cutbacks and financial hardships. These penalties pushed BitRiver’s main shareholder, Group of Companies Fox, into bankruptcy proceedings during February. The new fraud allegations against Runets further threaten the company's survival amid a tough regulatory environment.
This content is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
