A Moscow court has moved BitRiver founder Igor Runets from house arrest to pretrial detention as investigators examine an alleged fraud involving nearly ₽1 billion. The charge, which covers fraud on an especially large scale, remains an allegation, and no court has found him guilty. According to investigators, Runets's company Fox Group signed an equipment-supply contract with Infrastructure of Siberia in 2023, but allegedly failed to deliver the cryptocurrency-mining machines, worth over $8 million, and did not return the advance payment of $7.9 million.
Background
The dispute developed from an earlier commercial relationship between BitRiver and En+, which led to several civil claims, including a court order for Fox Group to pay Infrastructure of Siberia ₽954.4 million over the disputed advance payment.
Current Proceedings
The criminal investigation comes as BitRiver and related companies face financial and insolvency proceedings, including bankruptcy proceedings over unpaid debts and court-supervised financial review. Runets is expected to remain in pretrial detention for two months unless an appeal changes the court's order.
