Court detains BitRiver founder over 1 billion ruble fraud

A Moscow court has ordered the founder of Russia's largest cryptocurrency mining company to be held in a pretrial detention center for at least two months, escalating a fraud investigation involving nearly 1 billion rubles (approximately $12.5 million). Igor Runets, founder of BitRiver, was transferred from house arrest to custody by the Zamoskvoretsky District Court on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

Runets faces charges under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers fraud on an especially large scale committed by an organized group. Investigators allege that a company he controlled, Fox Group, received a full advance payment of over 7.9 million dollars from Infrastructure of Siberia, a subsidiary of the Russian energy and metals conglomerate En, for a supply of cryptocurrency mining equipment. The equipment, reportedly Antminer S19k Pro units, was never delivered, and the funds were not returned, according to the prosecution's account, which has not been proven at trial.

The court granted the stricter custody measure after investigators argued it was necessary due to the scale of the alleged damages and concerns that Runets could pressure witnesses. This...