Central Bank revealed statistics on the number of detected cryptocurrency pyramids

Fraudsters are actively using the current information agenda, said Valery Lyakh, director of the Bank of Russia’s Department for Combating Unfair Practices

More than 58% of financial pyramid schemes identified in the first quarter of 2022 are related to cryptocurrencies, Valery Lyakh, director of the Bank of Russia’s department for countering unscrupulous practices, told TASS in an interview. According to him, against the backdrop of financial uncertainty, schemes allegedly based on investments in digital instruments got a boost in development, as fraudsters actively use the current information agenda.

“Against the backdrop of financial uncertainties, calls to ‘save money’ in foreign jurisdictions are popular: invest in a foreign project, in foreign securities,” stressed the director of the Central Bank department.

He explained that now malefactors are framing proposals under the sanctions theme. According to the regulator’s representative, restrictions related to international settlements have become a way to convince a person to transfer money to the personal account of an intermediary individual.

“Schemes based on transfers via cryptocurrency or investments in supposedly ‘digital instruments’ also received another boost,” Lyakh added.

In March, the FSB detained the organizers of a cryptocurrency financial pyramid in Dagestan. The fraud network had branches in Dagestan, Moscow, Kazan, and Simferopol, as well as offices in Turkey and Kazakhstan.

Investigators tentatively estimated the damage caused by the fraudsters at more than 1 billion rubles. The organizers of the scheme face up to ten years in prison and large fines.