A detained social media influencer could go to a Russian penitentiary and stay there for around 10 years to serve her sentence for committing crypto fraud. Valeria Fedyakina, nicknamed the “Queen of Crypto,” is at the center of multiple accusations of large-scale scam activities that allegedly included funding the Ukrainian military amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Valeria Fedyakina portrayed herself as a crypto entrepreneur to gain the trust of her victims. Image: NX/New York Post
“Crypto Queen” denies allegations
Fedyakina refuted allegations of fraud made against her by the RIC, saying she had not committed any fraud, but she told Russian media that she supported her nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
His lawyers added that Fedyakina had no prior convictions for any crime, arguing that his client could be the victim of a conspiracy.
In September 2023, Russian authorities arrested Fedyakina as she attempted to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since then, she has been held in a pre-trial detention center with her newborn.
According to reports, Russian authorities will formally charge him with fraud by November. If convicted, she faces a sentence of 10 years in prison.
Authorities arrested Fedyakina in September 2023. Image: Newsflash
$22 million in crypto stolen
According to the Russian agency’s investigation, Crypto Queen was able to steal $22 million worth of cryptocurrency from investors.
After completing its investigation, RIC recommended criminal charges be filed against her for four counts of fraud. The investigative body said that Fedyakina violated part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by stealing other people’s property by deceiving them.
However, Fedyakina has maintained her innocence to the charges by pleading not guilty to the crimes associated with her.
BTCUSD trading at $66,470 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView.com
No registration with the tax administration
The results of the investigation showed that Fedyakina’s operations, “Bitmama” and “Bitmama Finance”, operate without proper registration. Authorities discovered that she had no record of registering as an entrepreneur with Russian tax authorities.
As a result, investigators concluded that Fedyakina may have intended to deceive people and steal their money.
Its modus operandi
Reports indicate that Fedyakina poses as a leading cryptocurrency expert to gain the trust of her potential victims before implementing her plan to obtain their cryptocurrency assets.
Investigations showed that in addition to the city of Moscow, the “Crypto Queen” has a global chain of offices in strategic locations such as Monaco, Dubai, Turkey and Serbia.
Authorities said that to steal his victim’s money, Fedyakina persuaded them to transfer funds to a Dubai crypto account, an evasive move used to circumvent restrictions of traditional banks.
Additionally, she lured her victims with a 1% bonus when they transferred money to her for crypto conversion.
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