A Russian man who sold ruble-denominated code on the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex to an unknown user who turned out to be a fraudster was sentenced to two years’ probation for “collusion with the offender.” The case is reported by юридическое агентство Cartesius.
In early 2022, Ivan Ivanov [name changed] via Garantex’s P2P service sold code for 900,000 rubles. However, after the funds were credited his card was frozen under a criminal fraud case, opened on the basis of a complaint by a woman.
It later transpired that the trader had become an involuntary participant in a classic ‘triangle’ scheme. In this case it unfolded as follows:
- The fraudster opened a “normal” deal to buy ruble-denominated codes and obtained the trader’s payment details. Later he, by phone, offered the victim under the pretext of investments to deposit funds to the bank card and provided the cryptocurrency trader’s details.
- The victim paid the deal to the seller’s cryptocurrency card, after which the crypto-trader sent the code to the fraudster.
- Ultimately the fraudster was left with the code paid for by the victim, and the victim was left without money. Since the crypto trader was the direct recipient of the funds, it was he whom law enforcement questioned.
Ivanov turned to the district police to appeal the arrest of his bank account, but he was detained and his phone seized. According to Cartesius, investigators pressured the trader and claimed that by providing card details he was in collusion with those who deceived the victim.
The trader’s share of the deal was defined by prosecutors as “criminal remuneration”.
Обвинения строились вокруг того, что раз Иванов «допускал» возможность получения грязных денег при продаже кодов, то он является пособником злоумышленников.
Трейдера признали виновным в мошенничестве в крупном размере и пособничестве. Его приговорили к двум годам условно, несколько месяцев из которых он уже провел в СИЗО.
Сейчас юристы Cartesius оказывают помощь трейдеру.
Ранее СМИ сообщили о популярных схемах обмана россиян при обмене биткоина.