The Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan has sentenced the former head of the Russian financial pyramid scheme Finiko Lilia Nurieva to three years in prison for fraud with crypto assets and foreign currencies.
Initially, Lilia Nurieva was threatened with a ten-year sentence, but the court softened the sentence taking into account the time that the accused had already served since her arrest. In addition, Nuriyeva fully admitted her guilt and made a deal with the investigation. Taking into account these factors, the court considered the case in a special order, without witnesses and without questioning the victims. Nuriyeva's lawyer, Maria Belousova, said that her client was engaged in renting and selling real estate — she was a media personality in Tatarstan. Thanks to this, she was attracted to the work of the creators of Finiko.
The organization started its activity in 2018 as a cryptocurrency investment fund. It guaranteed investors up to 30% profit on their deposits of $1,000 or more. At first, the dividends actually went to the accounts of depositors, and customers withdrew them through bitcoins. The company then created its own cryptocurrency, which suddenly collapsed in 2021. Investors investments "evaporated", and the fund stopped paying out. Finiko hastened to close its offices across the country and shut down its website.
Law enforcement officers found out that clients received dividends not from trading operations with foreign currencies and cryptoassets, but from funds invested in the scheme by new clients. In February 2021, the Bank of Russia included Finiko in the list of companies with signs of illegal activity. According to media reports, now 161 victims appear in the case, and the amount of damage is estimated at 209 million rubles.
Recall that in 2021, Finiko founder Kirill Doronin revealed accomplices who lured potential investors into the scheme. Doronin and nine other alleged accomplices are in jail. The Prosecutor General's Office approved the indictment against them. It was sent to the Vakhitovsky court, which will have to announce the verdict to the accused.
Initially, Lilia Nurieva was threatened with a ten-year sentence, but the court softened the sentence taking into account the time that the accused had already served since her arrest. In addition, Nuriyeva fully admitted her guilt and made a deal with the investigation. Taking into account these factors, the court considered the case in a special order, without witnesses and without questioning the victims. Nuriyeva's lawyer, Maria Belousova, said that her client was engaged in renting and selling real estate — she was a media personality in Tatarstan. Thanks to this, she was attracted to the work of the creators of Finiko.
The organization started its activity in 2018 as a cryptocurrency investment fund. It guaranteed investors up to 30% profit on their deposits of $1,000 or more. At first, the dividends actually went to the accounts of depositors, and customers withdrew them through bitcoins. The company then created its own cryptocurrency, which suddenly collapsed in 2021. Investors investments "evaporated", and the fund stopped paying out. Finiko hastened to close its offices across the country and shut down its website.
Law enforcement officers found out that clients received dividends not from trading operations with foreign currencies and cryptoassets, but from funds invested in the scheme by new clients. In February 2021, the Bank of Russia included Finiko in the list of companies with signs of illegal activity. According to media reports, now 161 victims appear in the case, and the amount of damage is estimated at 209 million rubles.
Recall that in 2021, Finiko founder Kirill Doronin revealed accomplices who lured potential investors into the scheme. Doronin and nine other alleged accomplices are in jail. The Prosecutor General's Office approved the indictment against them. It was sent to the Vakhitovsky court, which will have to announce the verdict to the accused.
