Moscow law enforcement officers arrested one of the leaders of the Blagopoluchie investment fund and the creator of the Intelex cryptocurrency exchange, Vitaly Sokolovsky, who is accused of fraud amounting to tens of millions of rubles. Kommersant reports this with reference to sources.
According to investigators, during 2021–2022, Sokolovsky, together with his accomplice Vitaly Pavlov, raised funds under the guise of investing in cryptocurrencies, promising monthly dividends of 12%.
The amount of contributions ranged from 4.5 million to 15 million rubles. The fund operated on the principle of a financial pyramid, so some clients initially received the promised interest from the funds of new investors.
In addition, the leaders of Blagopoluchie launched the Intelex exchange, supposedly so that investors could trade cryptocurrencies on their own. To open a personal account on the platform, a contribution of about $1000 was required. The exchange website is currently unavailable.
According to investigators, all the funds received were stolen by Sokolovsky and his accomplices.
In addition to Moscow, the fund’s branches operated in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar and Sochi.
At the moment, about three dozen people have been recognized as victims in the case, but their number is likely to increase significantly. The damage could exceed hundreds of millions of rubles.
Now Sokolovsky is in a pre-trial detention center. Vitaly Pavlov has been put on the wanted list and charged in absentia with fraud.
Previously, ForkLog reported that in the first half of 2023, the total damage from the activities of the largest cryptocurrency pyramids in the Russian Federation amounted to more than $50 million.
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