BitRiver Founder Charged with $12.5 Million Fraud in Russia

Russian authorities have charged Igor Runets, founder of crypto mining company BitRiver, with 'large-scale' fraud. The charges stem from a failed equipment supply contract worth $8 million that was never fulfilled to Infrastructure of Siberia, a subsidiary of En+, which produces 5% of the world's aluminum.

The alleged damages exceed 1 billion rubles ($12.5 million). Runets, who has been detained and placed on house arrest since February, is also facing three charges of tax evasion. His company, BitRiver, had faced financial issues following a six-year government ban across 10 regions in Russia.

BitRiver began with a single data center in Siberia in 2017, which Runets founded the same year. The operation expanded to 15 data centers with over 175,000 servers under his leadership.