Every other Ponzi scheme in 2021 drew Russians in with cryptocurrencies

The Bank of Russia identified around 2,700 companies with signs of illegal activity during 2021. The number of Ponzi schemes rose from 222 to 871 compared with the previous year.

According to the regulator, more than half of the Ponzi schemes operating online attracted funds in cryptocurrencies or offered investments in various non-existent digital assets.

“Malicious actors exploited the financial and digital illiteracy of potential victims and advertised investments in projects that cannot be realized technically,” the Bank of Russia said.

812 of the 860 identified illegal professional participants in the securities market offered forex-dealer services. Many of them positioned themselves as foreign brokers, and almost all sought clients online. In 2020, the number of such companies stood at 395.

Another 948 companies bore signs of “black lenders” – last year there were 821.

“Fraudsters are actively expanding online space, where creating new projects is much cheaper and easier. At the same time, the Bank of Russia has improved the monitoring process, through which it more effectively identifies illegals online,” the Bank said.

Overall in 2021 the Bank of Russia initiated blocking access to more than 3,000 websites of illegal market participants and financial pyramids.

In November 2021, the Bank of Russia blacklisted eight companies offering “profit from Bitcoin”.

In the same month, Sberbank said that frauds “with the launch of fraudulent cryptocurrencies” had increased in Russia.

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