Bypassed the borders: for which blogger Bitmama was asked for 10 years in prison
The maximum term — ten years in prison — was requested by the prosecutor in the criminal case of blogger Victoria Fedyakina (Bitmama). According to investigators, the 27-year-old "goddess of blockchain", as she was called on social networks, organized a financial cryptopyramide, on which she earned millions of dollars. She was charged with fraud — withdrawing funds abroad, bypassing currency controls and restrictions. The damage in the case amounted to 2.2 billion rubles. Who Bitmama is and what her business was is in the Izvestia article.
Who is Bitmama?
Valeria Fedyakina, better known as Bitmama and the "goddess of blockchain," whom investigators accuse of creating a cryptopyramide worth millions of dollars, may go to prison for ten years. Such a deadline was requested by the prosecutor for her on May 22 during the debate of the parties in the Presnensky District Court of Moscow.
According to investigators, the blogger organized a pyramid scheme, which earned millions of dollars. She was withdrawing funds abroad, bypassing currency controls and restrictions, it follows from the case file. Among the victims in the case are Evgeny Roitman, one of the founders of the Yota operator, General director of the Antares company, and Mikhail Westerfrid, Deputy General Director of Ruscontractor (the company implements investment projects in the agricultural sector and the food industry).
The total amount of damage in the case amounted to 2.2 billion rubles.
Fedyakina was arrested in the fall of 2023 on charges of fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Gagik Gulakyan, one of the investors, wrote a statement against her, and he was also recognized as a victim in the case.
The essence of the scheme was as follows: Bitmama received cash from investors, transferred them to cryptocurrency, and then they were sent through crypto wallets to the United Arab Emirates. The entrepreneur charged a commission for each such operation.
Valeria Fedyakina refused to participate in the debate on May 22. But during her stay in jail, she answered Izvestia's questions. Among other things, she confirmed that she was engaged in so—called "permutations" - moving money from Russia to the UAE and back. The profit was achieved due to the difference in the exchange rates of cryptocurrencies. But this business was not a pyramid scheme, she assured. Bitmama has pleaded not guilty to fraud.
Fedyakina started dealing with cryptocurrencies in 2018. According to her, clients who wanted to withdraw money abroad were willing to turn to her for help. Her company worked not only as an exchange, but also as a bank — it provided promising investors with large amounts of credit for transactions in goods and raw materials.
"The money was delivered in cash, without checks, everything was based on verbal agreements," she said.
According to her, at the beginning of 2023, the company's capital amounted to several million dollars.
What Bitmama's partners told us
In May 2023, Fedyakina began working with two permanent partners— Gagik Gulakyan and Vahram Stepanyan. They agreed to transfer money from Russia to the UAE and back together, and created a common cash register.
Further, the testimony of the former companions diverges. According to Fedyakina, her co-investors directed the money received from clients to their own business, which created a cash gap of $40 million in the company's budget. According to Bitmama, they have not returned this money to her so far. According to the blogger, the former partners wrote a statement against her "in order not to return the money."
At the same time, Gagik Gulakyan's lawyer Ivan Mironov told Izvestia that it was Bitmama who refused to pay the bills to her business partners.
"At that moment, she had a fabulous sum in her hands, rumored to be about $200 million," the lawyer said.
Yulia Volotskaya, Valeria Fedyakina's lawyer, told Izvestia that she did not understand where the 2.2 billion rubles in damages attributed to her client came from. According to the lawyer, the charge does not contain information about the disbursement of funds.
The prosecutor stated that he saw no reason for a suspended sentence.
The defendant has a young child, whom she gave birth to in 2023 in a special maternity hospital at the pre-trial detention center. Accordingly, she can apply for a reprieve from punishment, but the prosecutor did not address this fact in his speech.
The mechanism of cross-border accounts
The "permutations" that Fedyakina was involved in represent a specific mechanism for cross-border settlements, Alexander Redkin, senior partner at Criminal Defense Firm, told Izvestia. In the context of sanctions restrictions on Russian banks, such schemes have become in demand for international trade, he noted.
— The principle of operation of "permutations": a person gives money in Russia, and his representative receives it abroad, or vice versa, — the lawyer explained. — Formally, this is not considered a cross-border transfer, since money does not physically cross the border.
Such schemes, the lawyer added, are in the "gray zone" of legislation, but they themselves may not violate the law if they do not use cryptocurrency as a means of payment within Russia. Criminal legal consequences may arise in case of non-fulfillment of obligations or dishonesty of the client of such an exchange.
— Since, as a rule, no documents are issued when accepting money in Russia and its subsequent transfer abroad, it is impossible to confirm the transfer of these funds, — said Alexander Redkin. — This creates the risk that an unscrupulous client may contact law enforcement agencies and subsequently illegally enrich himself by collecting the transferred amount through false denunciation.
The main criterion for distinguishing a legal business with cryptocurrency from fraud is the availability of a transparent operating scheme and compliance with the law, Maria Yakovleva, director of the Yakovlev and Partners law group, told Izvestia.
"A legal crypto business works with official partners, uses registered exchange platforms, pays taxes, and can confirm the sources of origin and destination of funds," the lawyer explained. — Fraud, as a rule, is disguised as investment, but real economic activity is either absent there, or is replaced by promises of high profitability without adequate guarantees.
Business or fraud
Participants in legitimate operations with cryptocurrency do not violate currency regulation, undergo customer identification procedures, and work with licensed platforms, the lawyer added. But in the case of Bitmama, there were massive cash transfers to cryptocurrency, followed by withdrawal to the UAE without being recorded in financial statements and bypassing currency controls.
— According to the investigation, this is already ceasing to be a business and is acquiring signs of "laundering" and deception. In addition, the "permutations" actually meant the withdrawal of funds without any obligation to refund, which also indicates signs of fraud.
The partners could easily settle scores with Bitmama, especially if the relationship was informal and not fixed by contracts, Maria Yakovleva agreed.
—But even if the motive was personal, it doesn't negate the objective existence of signs of a crime," she said. — The court will take into account both the position of the victim and the existence of evidence of theft.
The lawyers stressed that the maximum term under the article imputed to Bitmama is 10 years in prison. In practice, the courts impose from five to eight years if it is a question of major damage and the absence of mitigating circumstances.
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