BitRiver founder Igor Runets arrested on tax fraud charges

Igor Runets, the founder and CEO of Russian Bitcoin mining company BitRiver, has been arrested and charged with several counts of tax fraud.

This news was made public after local news outlet RBK published a report on Sunday, February 1, stating that Runets was held in custody on Friday, January 30. Currently, he faces three charges of allegedly concealing assets to evade taxes.

To further elaborate on these charges, reports highlighted that the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow released court documents indicating that the industry executive was officially charged on Saturday, January 31, and immediately placed under house arrest.

His legal team has limited time to challenge the house arrest, which takes full effect on Wednesday. In the event of an unsuccessful appeal or failure to appeal, Runets will remain under home confinement for the duration of the proceedings. This condition prompted several reporters to reach out to the CEO for clarification. However, Runets declined to respond to their request.

BitRiver finds itself in trouble after deciding to evade taxes

Established in 2017, BitRiver has become a leading name in Russian Bitcoin mining, operating massive data centers in Siberia and providing crypto mining services to other companies.

Following this achievement, a report from a reliable source noted that Runets’ net worth in late 2024 was around $230 million, amid his role in the crypto mining sector. However, the company has faced significant operational hurdles since the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions in mid-2022. The agency adopted this decision amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Later in May 2023, SBI Shinsei Bank, a major Japanese commercial bank based in Tokyo, and its key client, ceased using BitRiver’s Bitcoin mining services following the firm’s exit from Russia amid the conflict.

Consequently, reports indicated that BitRiver began cutting budgets and scaling back operations in late 2024, resulting in salary delays for workers.

Meanwhile, regarding its legal battle, the report disclosed that the firm encountered two lawsuits from Infrastructure of Siberia, its electricity provider, in early 2025. In this lawsuit, BitRiver was accused of receiving payment for equipment that was never delivered.

Russia seeks to embrace regulated crypto-related operations in the country 

While Runets’ case continues, recent reports published late last month highlighted that Russia is preparing to introduce its first standardized cryptocurrency framework. Following this decision, local news reported that lawmakers remained optimistic they would complete the draft for a parliamentary vote before July this year.

Anatoly Aksakov, who leads the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, commented on the situation.  He sparked hope in the country after declaring that these long-awaited regulations may receive approval as early as this summer.

Upon approval, the regulations will be enacted following a one-year delay to enable both qualified and non-qualified investors to trade BTC and other digital assets beginning July 1, 2027. Moreover, the new system permits retail investors to participate in the crypto market; however, they will be subject to stringent restrictions.

At this point, the state news agency TASS alleged that non-qualified traders would be restricted to purchasing up to 300,000 rubles, or about $3,900 annually. For cryptocurrencies, they will be allowed to buy a few highly liquid, regulator-approved digital assets.

However, professional and qualified investors will enjoy unlimited cryptocurrency trading, except for privacy-focused tokens such as Monero and Zcash. This is because officials have consistently raised concerns about anonymity and anti-money laundering compliance as the main reasons for excluding these types of assets.

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