Initial Fraud Case Against Beribit Exchange Dismissed
Investigators in Khabarovsk initiated a criminal case based on a complaint from a client of the cryptocurrency exchange Beribit. This was highlighted by the Telegram channel «Менделеевщина».
According to the document, the victim reported the theft of funds totaling 1.1 million rubles (10,910 USDT). The case, citing large-scale fraud, was filed against an “unidentified person.”
In the complaint, the client stated that the funds were stolen “by the Beribit exchange from [his] personal trading account.”
A week later, the decision to open a criminal case was revoked as “unfounded and premature,” reported the Telegram channel CARTESIUS channel.
According to the document, the investigator did not conduct an objective and thorough review of the complaint. Specifically, it was not determined “why the applicant was not paid the digital currency, no appropriate request was sent to the organization and the regulatory body, and the exchange employees were not interviewed.”
The case materials have been sent for additional review to make a lawful decision by 13 June.
Lawyers described the incident as “a common practice for law enforcement agencies.” They also noted that “none of the complaints filed in Moscow have progressed further” — all resulted in decisions to refuse opening a criminal case, based on civil law relations.
Meanwhile, the administration of the trading platform announced the resumption of full operations from 6 May and continues to report on ongoing payments.
Beribit also stated that it plans to reimburse part of the funds as DFA in agreement with users and convert remaining balances into them.
The technical team is working on implementing the necessary functionality on the platform.
Back in March, raids were conducted at Beribit’s Moscow offices.
In April, the exchange reported “technical issues with cryptocurrency withdrawals,” which were later explained by a change in management and “discrepancies in reporting” discovered during the transfer of management documentation.
After a crowd of angry clients gathered at the company’s office, Beribit promised to “settle with everyone completely.”
Earlier, ForkLog reported that at least 20 users filed police reports alleging fraud by the platform.
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