Crypto Kingpin Arrested in Moscow! Is His Game of Fraud Finally Over?

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Hold onto your wallets, folks! Russian law enforcement has just made a major move, arresting the co-founder of the crypto game Blum in Moscow. The charge? Large-scale fraud—because who doesn’t love a good scam story? 🕵️‍♂️

Smerkis Surrenders His Crypto Crown

In a dramatic twist that could only happen in the crypto world, Vladimir Smerkis, the co-founder of the infamous crypto game Blum, has been arrested in Moscow. The charges? You guessed it—massive fraud. And to make things even more interesting, this all came to light just a day after Blum announced that Smerkis would be stepping down as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The timing? Impeccable. 😅

According to TASS, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court has granted a request for Smerkis’ detention, a decision that’s about as welcome as a surprise tax audit. The petition was based on an investigation into a fraud case on a “particularly large scale” (you know, the kind of fraud that gets you on the evening news). It’s like the crypto version of a high-stakes poker game—except someone’s been caught cheating, and it’s all coming apart at the seams. 💼🃏

“The Zamoskvoretsky District Court granted the investigator’s petition to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention for Vladimir Smerkis, who was detained in connection with a case of fraud on an especially large scale (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation),” a source inside the agency explained. Sounds like someone’s got some explaining to do! 😬

While the court’s website confirmed that it received the materials related to Smerkis’ arrest, they conveniently chose to remain tight-lipped on the matter. No word yet on whether they’ll add ‘crypto con artist’ to their list of honors. 📜

And just to make this all even juicier, a separate report suggests that Smerkis’ arrest might just be the tip of the iceberg, as it’s linked to some previous cryptocurrency ventures where investors reportedly lost at least $15 million. One of his earlier escapades, The Token Fond (remember that name, folks), was a crypto fund that raised $8 million in 2017, only to vanish faster than a Bitcoin price dip. 💸

But wait—there’s more! Another of Smerkis’ projects, Tokenbox, also raised $7 million. That’s right, $7 million. Unfortunately, the project’s TBX token, listed on two exchanges, plummeted faster than a dropped phone. It seems like Smerkis was just one bad investment after another. If there’s one thing the crypto world loves, it’s a good comeback story, but this one might be more of a ‘hit the road, Jack’ situation. 😬

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2025-05-19 07:57