BitRiver Founder Jailed on $12.5 Million Fraud Charges

Igor Runets, founder of Russian cryptocurrency mining firm BitRiver, has been placed in pretrial detention on fraud charges involving approximately $12.5 million.

The alleged scheme involved a contract worth $8 million to supply mining equipment to Infrastructure of Siberia, a subsidiary of En+, which controls about 5% of global aluminum output.

Prosecutors claim that Runets failed to deliver the equipment, resulting in losses exceeding 1 billion rubles, or roughly $12.5 million at current exchange rates.

This is not the first time Runets has faced legal troubles; he was already under house arrest on separate tax evasion allegations.