Russian police investigate fraud case related to cryptocurrency mining
The police have found that a 32-year old man ran a hyip and a cryptocurrency mining fraudulent scheme.
Russian police have announced that they are investigating a fraud case, involving cryptocurrency mining.
The investigators of Russia’s Kirov region have found that a man using a fake name used social networks to promote a scheme soliciting investments in return for “guaranteed” high returns. The scheme was a typical high-yield investment project (hyip) that cost the victims about RUB 2 million, the police said.
The police have arrested a 32-year old man from Ivanovo as a part of the investigation.
A representative of the police has also confirmed that the same suspect is responsible for a fraudulent scheme that was detected last summer. The man who is now under arrest defrauded a Moscow woman to buy 61 cards for cryptocurrency mining. The victim transferred RUB 1.7 million to the fraudster account before the scam was uncovered.
The probe, which seeks to establish all details of the fraudulent activities, continues.
In the meantime, the Russian authorities keep targeting Bitcoin-related activities. In November last year, the Office of the Tatarstan Prosecution announced that a warning had been issued to a 34-old local businessman who deployed two machines for selling Bitcoins in his stores.
In their press release, the prosecutors noted that at the present moment the legal status of cryptocurrencies is not defined in the Russian Federation. Any offering of virtual currency exchange by Russian entities is considered an involvement in suspicious practices in breach of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
In September, Officers of the Criminal Investigation Administration of the Russian MIA Administration for the Kostroma Region together with the Russian FSB Administration for the Kostroma Region apprehended three gang members involved in illegal banking through using an international payment system and a bitcoin exchange platform. The gang members were charged with law violations subject to Part 2 Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The court has issued a restraining order to the detained men.
