The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office approved the Kyrgyz colleagues’ extradition request for Cholpon Aidarova, a suspect in the Finiko financial pyramid.
According to case materials, the detainee during 2020-2021 served as regional head and representative of the company. During this period she, together with other members of Finiko, misappropriated funds belonging to more than 100 Kyrgyz citizens totaling $1.2 million and 5.7 million som ($64,000).
In addition, the suspect stole ‘significant sums’ of money from two other citizens.
Aidarova is charged with participation in a criminal group and fraud. The statute of limitations on her crimes in Kyrgyzstan and Russia has not expired.
As previously reported, fraud in a particularly large-scale has been opened in relation to Finiko. Total losses from the pyramid’s activities, according to independent estimates, exceeds $4 billion. The number of victims is at least 850,000 people.
The founder of the pyramid Kirill Doronin remains in custody since late July 2021. As part of a deal with investigators he testified against 44 accomplices. He did not admit guilt and denied the misappropriation of funds.
On September 6, 2022, Finiko co-founder Zygmunt Zygmuntovich was detained in the UAE, and in December — Edward Sabirov. The latter was later released on bail of 1 million dirhams (nearly 20 million rubles). The accused’s father left his passport as collateral.
Marat Sabirov, who remains at large, is declared an international arrest warrant and arrested in absentia.
For more on the Finiko founders’ exit scam, see ForkLog.