Russian mother and self-proclaimed ‘crypto expert’ have imprisoned more than $ 23 million Bitcoin-swam

A Russian mother who has branded herself as a crypto expert was sentenced by a court in Moscow to seven years in prison after orchestrating Bitcoin In only 60 days in 2023.

Valeria Fedyakina, from Simferopol, was presented as “Bitmama”, a legitimate crypto trader with global offices, promised customers that they could transfer their money abroad using Crypto to circumvent Western sanctions, according to De Telegraaf.

Instead, Russian prosecutors said that she emptied the bills of her customers, in what became one of the biggest recent crypto fraud cases in the country.

Fraud took place when Western sanctions sharpened Russia’s access to traditional banking, making Crypto an attractive alternative to Russians who want to move money abroad.

The Presnky District Court in Moscow sentenced Fedyakina on 24 June to serve time in a penal colony and ordered her to pay $ 23 million in compensation to its victims.

The Public Prosecution Service had asked the maximum prison sentence of 10 years according to the Russia articles of association.

“Russian crypto criminals use regulatory arbitration, setting up entities in looser jurisdicties (such as parts of the VAE) to mask Russian origin, to move funds cross-border and weak KYC/AML enforcement to exploit, CEOVID, TRURDY LAVID Decrypt.

Fedyakina, 30, exploited her company informally under the “Bitmama” and “Bitmama Finance”, arranging deals in luxury hotels in Moscow and funds went to the VAE via Crypto portfolios.

She did the crime “under the guise of investing in its activities in transport and the purchase and sale of oil, oil products, gold and other minerals,” said a spokesperson for the Russia research committee, as quoted De Telegraaf.

“Bitmama” reportedly said the victims that she would exchange their money for digital currency in Dubai to prevent sanctions, but the funds soon disappeared in her crypto portfolios stored in the VAE.

The personal assistant of the accused told the researchers that customers initially brought $ 2-3 million (200-300 million rubles) to the office, with amounts that later reached $ 15 million (1.5 billion rubles) per day, local news output Izvestia reported.

Fedyakina was arrested on September 15, 2023, while she tried to flee Russia for the VAE.

Although she was six months pregnant, she was held and gave birth to prison later and she stayed with her daughter in the Sizo No. 6 -detention center in Moscow.

The case represents a clearly different pattern than the state supported crypto operations, according to Alice Frei, head of safety and compliance at the beginning PR.

“Criminal schemes such as Fedyakina are unorganized and opportunistic,” Frei said Decrypt. “They rely on funds of scattered victims, often through scams, phishing or false investment schemes.”

“These activities usually prefer Stablecoins such as USDT or USDC, which makes more predictable value retention and cross-border use possible,” Frei noted and said that fraudsters exploit the regulatory gaps between jurisdictions, in particular the use of the crypto-friendly environment of the VAE.

Russia and Crypto

In the meantime, Blockchain investigations have revealed the growing dependence on Russia of Cryptocurrency to finance intelligence operations.

A recent Reuters Probe revealed how the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) used Bitcoin to pay teenager and untrained spies throughout Europe.

Earlier this month, American authorities charged Ian Mausner for the implementation of a crypto-fraud plan of $ 500 million, claiming that he has misled investors and poured funds in Russian-linked markets while the tires that could violate international sanctions.