Russian ‘Crypto Queen’ to Face $23m Fraud Wrap
Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...
The self-styled Russian “crypto queen” Valeria Fedyakina, aka “Bitmama,” will face multiple counts of “large-scale” fraud.
Fedyakina denies the charges, and her legal team has asked a court to release her – and her newborn daughter – from a pre-trial detention center.
According to the state news agency TASS, the Russian Investigative Committee has completed its investigation into Fedyakina, a social media star with a sizeable, crypto-keen following.
The news agency said that the committee has accused her of causing “more than 2.2 billion rubles (around $23 million) in damages.”
Four “victims” are named in the committee’s legal documents, although the media has withheld these individuals’ identities.
The committee further claimed that Fedyakina carried out illegal actions using “various currencies, including cryptocurrency.”
And the committee noted that Fedyakina carried out “over-the-counter crypto transactions.” Media outlets claimed that she primarily used Bitcoin (BTC) to send funds to and from Dubai.
The body has accused her of “providing an indefinite number of persons with services for currency conversion.”
She is also accused of using crypto to make “international money transfers without using bank accounts.”
The “victims” said they tried to use her services to send money between Moscow and Dubai.
“Fedyakina had a criminal intent to steal money or cryptocurrency by deceiving an indefinite number of people. She did so under the guise of investing in her activities in the transportation and purchase and sale of oil, oil
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