A judge in the Southern District of New York, Colleen McMahon, has sentenced the founder of the Oyster Pearl cryptocurrency project, Amir Bruno Elmaani, known as Bruno Block, to four years in prison.
According to the press release, this is the maximum legal term for tax violations committed by the defendant.
On April 5, 2023, Elmaani pleaded guilty to secretly issuing and selling Pearl tokens for personal gain, not paying income tax on this activity, and allowing fiscal damage of $5.5 million.
Law enforcement officers brought charges against the founder of Oyster Pearl in December 2020.
In a plea agreement, he confirmed that in 2017, under the pseudonym Bruno Block, he launched a crypto project. In October 2017, an ICO of Pearl tokens (PRL) was held.
To investors and in the public space, Elmaani stated that the supply of coins will remain fixed, and the smart contract for their release is blocked. However, about a year later, I secretly minted and sold a new batch of tokens.
The value of the asset in the hands of investors collapsed, and the exchange through which Bruno Block conducted operations soon stopped supporting Pearl.
The defendant did not meet with investors and employees of Oyster Pearl personally, hiding behind a pseudonym. The company that became the legal shell for the crypto project was registered as a figurehead.
For 2017, Elmaani filed a declaration in which he reported $15,000 in annual income not related to digital assets. In 2018, the entrepreneur did not report to the tax service at all.
According to the authorities, during this time he spent more than $10 million on the purchase of several yachts, $1.6 million-on the acquisition of a company that produces composites. Elmaani became the owner of two cottages worth $700,000 registered to his fictitious firm, and made purchases "worth hundreds of thousands of dollars" in home improvement stores.
In addition to the prison term, Elmaani is required to pay tax damages in excess of $5.5 million.
Recall that in early October, the Court of the Southern District of New York issued sentences to employees of the international cryptocurrency pyramid AirBit Club, which has become one of the largest in the Russian Federation.
According to the press release, this is the maximum legal term for tax violations committed by the defendant.
On April 5, 2023, Elmaani pleaded guilty to secretly issuing and selling Pearl tokens for personal gain, not paying income tax on this activity, and allowing fiscal damage of $5.5 million.
Law enforcement officers brought charges against the founder of Oyster Pearl in December 2020.
In a plea agreement, he confirmed that in 2017, under the pseudonym Bruno Block, he launched a crypto project. In October 2017, an ICO of Pearl tokens (PRL) was held.
To investors and in the public space, Elmaani stated that the supply of coins will remain fixed, and the smart contract for their release is blocked. However, about a year later, I secretly minted and sold a new batch of tokens.
The value of the asset in the hands of investors collapsed, and the exchange through which Bruno Block conducted operations soon stopped supporting Pearl.
The defendant did not meet with investors and employees of Oyster Pearl personally, hiding behind a pseudonym. The company that became the legal shell for the crypto project was registered as a figurehead.
For 2017, Elmaani filed a declaration in which he reported $15,000 in annual income not related to digital assets. In 2018, the entrepreneur did not report to the tax service at all.
According to the authorities, during this time he spent more than $10 million on the purchase of several yachts, $1.6 million-on the acquisition of a company that produces composites. Elmaani became the owner of two cottages worth $700,000 registered to his fictitious firm, and made purchases "worth hundreds of thousands of dollars" in home improvement stores.
In addition to the prison term, Elmaani is required to pay tax damages in excess of $5.5 million.
Recall that in early October, the Court of the Southern District of New York issued sentences to employees of the international cryptocurrency pyramid AirBit Club, which has become one of the largest in the Russian Federation.
