A detained social media influencer could be headed to a Russian prison and remain there for nearly 10 years serving her sentence for committing cryptocurrency fraud. Valeria Fedyakina, dubbed the “Queen of Cryptocurrencies,” is at the center of multiple accusations of widespread fraudulent activities which have reportedly included… Financing the Ukrainian army Amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Valeria Fedyakina portrayed herself as a crypto entrepreneur to gain the trust of her victims. Image: NX/New York Post
The “Queen of Cryptocurrencies” denies these allegations
Fedyakina refuted Fraud allegations She was brought against her by the RIC, claiming she had committed no fraud, but she told Russian media she supported her nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
Her defense lawyers added that Fedyakina has no history of conviction for any crime, arguing that her client may be the victim of a conspiracy.
In September 2023, Russian authorities arrested Fedyakina as she attempted to board a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates. Since then, she has been housed in a pre-trial detention center with her newborn child.
According to reports, Russian authorities will file formal fraud charges against her by November. If convicted, she will likely spend 10 years in prison.
Authorities arrested Fedyakina in September 2023. Image: Newsflash
$22 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen
According to the Russian agency’s investigations, Crypto Queen was able to steal $22 million of its funds Cryptocurrency From investors.
After completing the investigation, the RIC recommended that criminal charges be brought against her for four counts of fraud. The investigative body said that Fedyakina violated Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by stealing another person’s property by deceiving him.
However, Fedyakina maintained her innocence of the accusations by issuing a not guilty plea to related crimes.
BTCUSD trading at $66,470 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView.com
There is no registration with the IRS
The results of the investigation showed that Fedyakina’s operations, “Bitmama” and “Bitmama Finance”, operated without proper registration. The authorities discovered that she had no registration record as an entrepreneur with the Russian Tax Service.
As a result, investigators concluded that Fedyakina probably intended to deceive people and steal their money.
How it works
Fedyakina reportedly presented herself as a leading cryptocurrency expert to gain the trust of her potential victims before implementing her plan to obtain their cryptocurrency assets.
Investigations showed that in addition to Moscow, Crypto Queen has a chain of global offices in strategic locations such as Monaco, Dubai, Turkey and Serbia.
To steal her victim’s money, Fedyakina convinced them to transfer the money to a cryptocurrency account in Dubai, a devious move used to get around restrictions imposed by traditional banks, authorities said.
Furthermore, she lured her victims with a 1% reward when they transferred money to her for cryptocurrency exchange.
Featured image from Newsflash, chart from TradingView