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- A Russian crypto influencer is known as Bitmama has been sentenced to seven years in detention middle for a $23 million cryptocurrency Ponzi plot
- Russian authorities have accused her of defrauding purchasers via counterfeit Bitcoin switch products and services
- Just some of the stolen funds can have been veteran to make stronger Ukraine’s army, investigators explain
A Russian crypto influencer is known as Bitmama has been handed a seven-three hundred and sixty five days sentence in a penal colony after being found responsible of orchestrating a short-lived but highly lucrative Bitcoin scam. Operating below the precise title Valeria Fedyakina, Bitmama convinced investors to hand over hundreds and hundreds for what she claimed were speedy and anonymous crypto transfers to bypass sanctions. As an different, authorities bid she pocketed the funds and moved them to her private wallets, with prosecutors including that a couple of of the money can have been sent to make stronger Ukraine’s army, an accusation that added political weight to the case.
Ruja Ignatova Mk. II
Fedyakina perceived to model herself on OneCoin scammer Ruja Ignatova, promoting herself as a globe-trotting Bitcoin skilled, providing discreet global transfers from Moscow to Dubai. Purchasers were drawn in by her polished describe and guarantees of speedy service, in overall meeting her in luxurious accommodations to finalize deals.
On the opposite hand, Russian investigators bid the operation became as soon as a conventional Ponzi plot: Fedyakina composed funds from original investors, rerouted them into her private UAE-based completely mostly crypto wallets, and veteran the influx of most up-to-date money to retain the appearance of returns. In right two months, the scam generated $23 million, each on occasion receiving up to $15 million in deposits in a single day
Pregnant Fedyaninka Arrested in Russia
Authorities caught up with Fedyaninka in September 2023 as she tried to skim Russia, despite being six months pregnant at the time. After being detained, she gave delivery in a Moscow clinic and became as soon as then transferred assist to a detention middle, the assign she remained alongside with her original child daughter all the strategy via her pretrial confinement.
Fedyaninka’s dramatic drop from lavish industry conferences to detention middle maternity care, all within a house of week in mid-gradual 2023, captured the honour of Russia’s crypto community. The case has raised fear no longer right for the scale of the fraud but for its global implications: authorities deem that phase of the stolen money can have ended up supporting Ukraine’s army efforts, an explosive explain given the ongoing battle.
On June 24, 2025, the Presnensky District Courtroom in Moscow convicted Fedyakina and sentenced her to seven years in a penal colony, whereas ordering plump restitution to victims. Prosecutors had requested for the maximum 10-three hundred and sixty five days sentence allowed below the rules, with a spokesperson from the Investigative Committee declaring, “Fedyakina had a legal intent to arrangement finish money or cryptocurrency by deceiving an indefinite desire of oldsters.”
