Bitmama faces up to 10 years in prison

Law-enforcement authorities have charged Valeria Fedyakina, known as Bitmama, with fraud in a case involving the theft of cryptocurrencies and fiat totaling at least 2.2bn rubles, TASS reported.

Investigators say she solicited investments in digital assets, promising high returns, after which the funds disappeared. In one episode, losses amounted to about 800m rubles.

A court has frozen the defendant’s accounts and assets to enable potential restitution.

Fedyakina faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1m rubles. She denies the charges.

The case is ongoing.

Fedyakina, who was six months pregnant, was detained on September 15, 2023, in Moscow. Citing her UAE residence permit, the court sent her to Moscow remand center No. 6, where she gave birth to a daughter.

Earlier, BitOK identified key addresses linked to Bitmama’s activity. According to analysts, about 20% of the total inflows to Fedyakina’s wallets were connected to the Russian crypto exchange Garantex.