BitRiver Founder Detained Over Alleged $13M Mining Equipment Scandal

Igor Runets, founder and CEO of BitRiver, has been detained by a Moscow court after prosecutors added new fraud charges to his existing tax evasion case. The alleged damage from the scheme totals nearly RUB 1 billion ($13 million), related to the supply of mining equipment to entities linked to En+ Group.

The original case against Runets involved concealment of assets to avoid paying taxes, which carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years. However, the new fraud allegations represent a significant escalation and land at a moment when BitRiver's parent company is already circling the drain financially.

BitRiver's rise in the global crypto mining infrastructure was marked by rapid growth, with 15 data centers across Russia and combined capacity of 533 MW and over 175,000 servers. However, its growth trajectory hit a wall in April 2022 when the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on BitRiver.