Astrakhan in southern Russia has detained an accused of fraud and trying to defraud people wanting to purchase cryptocurrency miners. Officials from law enforcement claim that the suspect sold fake mining equipment to foreigners and Russian citizens, making him millions of rubles.
Russians Made Profit Selling Crypto Mining Rigs, Investigators Say
A resident of Russian Republic of Tatarstan’s capital city, Kazan, has been apprehended in Astrakhan, Southern Russia, for allegedly defrauding 10 local residents and a number of foreigners who tried to buy mining equipment from him.
He posted fake advertisements for crypto mining machines and demanded payment in advance. According to law enforcement officials, he managed to raise around 19 millions rubles (approx. $315,000).
“According to the investigation, the young man posted on the internet tempting offers for the sale of cryptocurrency mining devices, which he never actually had. Now he is the defendant in a criminal case initiated under Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Large-scale fraud),” explained the local department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Astrakhan region.
According to a press release, the suspect had promised his victims that he would send the crypto-miners to them if they paid him fully beforehand. A buyer wired 936,000 rubles into the account of the seller. He then broke off all communication after he had received the money. The fake miner could be sentenced to up to six years imprisonment if he is found guilty.
The rise of theft and fraud in crypto mining has been accompanied by the increasing popularity of extracting digital coins as both a lucrative business and an additional income stream for ordinary Russians. Mining rigs worth $1.9million were taken from an Irkutsk mining hotel. In July, two masked men broke into a crypto farm in Moscow.
Tatarstan, where the arrested fraudster comes from, became home to Russia’s largest Ponzi scheme in recent years. Investors from Russia, Europe and the former Soviet space were lured by the Finiko pyramid. They received bitcoins in exchange for high-profit promises. Chainalysis has reported that in two years, the fraud received BTC worth over $1.5 Billion.
Are you expecting to see more fraud cases related cryptocurrency and mining in Russia in the future? Comment below to share your opinions.
Images CreditsShutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki commons.
DisclaimerThis article serves informational purposes. This article is not intended to be a solicitation or offer to sell or buy any product, service, or company. Bitcoin.com is not a provider of investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. This article does not contain any information, products, or advice that can be used to cause or alleged result in any kind of damage.