The head of the Finiko crypto pyramid will be imprisoned for 3 years

Nuriyeva was found guilty of defrauding private investors and participating in an organized crime group, they write “News“

How investors lost ₽5 billion because of Finico

Finiko is considered one of the largest Russian financial pyramids. It is often compared to MMM, a Ponzi scheme organized by Sergei Mavrodi.

The main office of Finiko was located in Kazan, and branches operated in 70 regions of Russia. Classic scammers promised investors huge profits from trading cryptocurrencies and shares on the stock market – up to 5% per day. The crypto pyramid, led by Kirill Doronin, operated from 2018 until its collapse in 2021.

The investigation established that Doronin and his accomplices traveled to different cities of the country, where they conducted master classes. They convinced people to invest money in their project, sometimes forcing them to take out loans or even sell their homes in order to invest.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the estimated damage caused to all participants of the Finiko virtual platform exceeded ₽5 billion.

Initially, investors received dividends in Bitcoin (BTC). They could have been taken out. However, after the launch of the Finiko project’s own cryptocurrency, FNK, in which investors invested money, its value fell sharply. In just a month, the victims lost all their savings.

Sudden collapse of the crypto pyramid

In 2021, the Central Bank of Russia recognized Finiko as a financial pyramid, including it in the list of companies with signs of illegal activity. Despite this, the scheme continued to attract significant investment until its sudden collapse.

That same year, crypto pyramid offices across the country abruptly closed, and the project website stopped working. At first, Doronin insisted that there was a technical glitch. However, later, as investigators found out, the creator of Finiko and all his accomplices stole investors’ money and fled from Russia.

What happened to the creators and participants

Now Dronin and nine more of his accomplices are in pre-trial detention center. They are accused of organizing and participating in a criminal group and fraud on an especially large scale. The Prosecutor General's Office approved the indictment and sent it to the Vakhitovsky Court.

Liliya Nurieva was given three years in prison. She initially faced up to ten years in prison. However, the sentence was commuted thanks to a pre-trial agreement.

The Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN) revealed that Finiko is one of the three largest organizations that received funds from the Russian P2P exchange Bitzlato. In 2023, the founder of Bitzlato was accused of money laundering in the United States.