The co-founder of the crypto game Blum has been taken into custody by Russian authorities in Moscow as part of an ongoing criminal probe into large-scale fraud.
Smerkis Resigns from Role as Blum’s Chief Marketing Officer
Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the crypto game Blum, was arrested in Moscow by Russian law enforcement as part of a criminal investigation concerning large-scale fraud. His arrest was disclosed one day after Blum announced that Smerkis would be stepping down from his role as chief marketing officer (CMO) and ending his association with the project.
As reported by TASS, the arrest was carried out following the approval of a petition for Vladimir Smerkis’ detention by the Zamoskvoretsky District Court.
It was stated by a source within the agency that a preventive measure in the form of detention was approved by the Zamoskvoretsky District Court for Vladimir Smerkis, who had been apprehended in relation to a case involving large-scale fraud under Article 159 of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code.
According to TASS, confirmation was provided by the court’s website regarding the receipt of documents pertaining to Smerkis’ arrest; however, no details were disclosed about the ruling on the issue.
Meanwhile, it has been suggested in a separate report that the arrest of Smerkis may be connected to earlier cryptocurrency ventures, where investors were allegedly defrauded of no less than $15 million. In 2017, a cryptocurrency investment fund known as The Token Fund was reportedly established by Smerkis, who had previously served as the head of Binance in the CIS; the fund raised $8 million before its operations were suddenly halted a year later.
Another project associated with Smerkis, known as Tokenbox, was reported to have secured $7 million in investments. The TBX token, which had been listed on two exchanges, was alleged to have undergone a sharp decline in value before ultimately vanishing.
