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Lawyer on the causes and fallout of raids on Moscow-City exchange offices

Legal Crypto’s Denis Mayasov on Moscow-City exchange raids and their fallout

06.10.2025 ForkLog

Raids on exchange offices in Moscow-City took place because the year is drawing to a close and law-enforcement officers need to “work the material”. So said Legal Crypto lawyer Denis Mayasov on ForkLog’s Podcast Society YouTube channel.

ForkLog (FL): Hi, Denis. Tell us what is happening in “Moscow-City”? Have all exchange offices closed, or is that fake?

D. M.: Things with the exchange offices are settling. Even those visited by “guys in uniform” are already operating.

FL: Are we talking about Rapira and Mosca?

D. M.: Mosca is open today; it almost immediately resumed work. Rapira’s withdrawals are inactive, but the app operates as normal.

The inspections began back at the end of September. Many said there would be no more exchange, that all the money was seized, and that the “Federation” was supposedly without funds.

Is that so? Not quite. They did seize a large amount of cash and equipment, including laptops, phones and other communications. The raids were such that no one was ready for them. They came in very hard, rough.

FL: Why is this happening?

D. M.: It’s year-end; they need to create case outcomes from operational materials. Operatives are actively doing this. You can find lots of cash and cards that are registered to no one knows whom.

Our latest case: a courier was going up in the lift with about 7m roubles. An operative took all the cash against a receipt and began asking about the economic sense of the operation. The courier could not answer.

FL: One cited reason for the checks is the fight against capital flight. How true is that?

D. M.: It has not been confirmed officially, but it is mentioned in many briefings.

Today operatives are actively looking for “dropovods”. This is the first link in the chain they chase. Because it is a very “interesting article”, and they really make a lot of statistics on it. This is a particular motivation for operatives. And couriers too—primarily those who work for call centres.

FL: Why were Rapira and Mosca chosen?

D. M.: They had not visited Rapira for a very long time. There were some raids, but not very active. Nothing as big as now. As for Mosca, I don’t know what it is connected with.

In July or June there was a blockchain forum. I don’t remember the month exactly. On that day “the heavy ones” came to them; they had a search. Recently there was another conference. And on that same day they also came to Mosca.

FL: Did other exchange offices end up closing?

Temporarily. How does the policy for conducting such operations work? Officers do not raid just one exchange office. They check the entire tower at once.

And an officer can seize something from any person or exchange office under a protocol. Because of that, many venues were entered.

FL: Did the investigative actions take place as a procedural check without a criminal case being opened?

D. M.: We have a Federal Law “On operational-search activity”. In the course of operational-search measures an officer has the right to carry out whatever actions he deems necessary to detect crimes.

This is actively applied in the Federation and Empire towers and adjacent Moscow-City buildings. The actions constitute a procedural check.

FL: One version of the reasons for the checks: a certain 38-year-old Roman Novak called himself a friend of Pavel Durov and offered TON at a discount. He turned out to be a fraudster and fled to Dubai. How realistic and truthful is this story?

D. M.: I do not believe this version. Any theory has the right to exist. But this one is absurd. I think the owners of exchange offices and exchanges are much smarter.

FL: How should traders behave during an inspection?

D. M.: First, react calmly. Traders often forget this and, unfortunately, do not behave quite correctly. There are two options: either they are lying handcuffed on the floor, or they are talking to an officer.

You need to understand immediately what you will say. And it should not be something you made up, but a version that has the right to live. Do not get into conflict with the police, because when they come for an operational event, their hands are untied. You can only make things worse for yourself.

FL: Is there a chance a trader will be let go with the money and not be touched?

D. M.: We had such a case. Literally a month and a half ago a person came into an exchange office that was being hit, and his associate called us. We arrived and began to engage within the legal field. And the funds were returned. We gave explanations on the spot and documented everything; no physical brute force was used on this trader, and it ended well.

FL: Are there situations when funds are seized dishonestly, without a protocol?

D. M.: There have been such cases. But now there are fewer and fewer.

FL: You mentioned illegal transfer of funds across the border. What are the main destinations—where is Russian capital flowing?

D. M.: Today all capital flows to Dubai.

FL: Another theory is that a number of officials figure in the case. How close is that to reality?

D. M.: So far this story is unconfirmed; we need to wait. I think it is unlikely official sources will confirm that comment.

FL: There are stories that exchanges are conducted in apartments, rented flats, in tower lobbies. Should we expect raids there?

D. M.: Many regions have a phrase: “exchange on one’s knees”. It is done in cars, cafes, somewhere else. Now in Moscow everything is centralised and neat; everyone is used to comfort, but that is possible too.

FL: In your view, what is the future of exchange offices in Russia?

D. M.: I think that in the near future the Central Bank, Rosfinmonitoring and exchange offices will interact. Five to ten venues will emerge that will operate under the aegis of centralisation through banking channels and with state support.

FL: What about P2P in Russia?

D. M.: What is P2P? It is the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies. Here this is legal. The issue is that the very format of P2P platforms is extremely tense: probably every third transaction is at great risk. You can end up under 115-FZ and 161-FZ. Or even worse: when they come to you with a search, and you were only selling cryptocurrency.

Because of this many are leaving it and moving into other segments. Today all drug trafficking goes through P2P.

FL: P2P falls under the tax regime. How and for what must you pay?

D. M.: This topic is super relevant, and today it is the main thing to do. If you earn—there is income from selling cryptocurrency—you must pay tax on it.