TL;DR
- UAE deports a Finiko co-founder to Russia for a $14 million crypto fraud case.
- The Ponzi scheme promised high returns using a token named FNK.
- Over 7,700 victims lost more than 1 billion rubles in the fraudulent scheme.
Russian officials confirmed the arrival of a Finiko cofounder in Moscow after a deportation carried out by the United Arab Emirates. According to Irina Volk from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the transfer occurred at Dubai Airport and involved coordination between Russian officers and local authorities. The detainee now enters a criminal case linked to one of the largest fraudulent investment schemes tied to digital assets in recent years.
A case that regains momentum after years of inquiry
The Interior Ministry continues to investigate Finiko, a platform that attracted funds by promising elevated returns linked to stocks, securities and cryptocurrency assets. Investigators state that the organizers accepted digital payments, introduced a token named FNK, and never placed capital into real market positions for the contributors. Official records cite more than 7,700 victims, with losses surpassing 1 billion rubles.
Evidence gathered by Russian agencies shows that the detainee left the country after the collapse of the scheme in 2021 and remained under an international search order. Volk noted that officers connected to Interpol identified the suspect in the UAE in late 2022. The deportation followed negotiations between the National Central Bureau and representatives from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office with Emirati officials.
Finiko operated without formal registration, built offices around Kazan, and expanded across several regions. Its network included Kirill Doronin, arrested in 2021, along with other collaborators who now face legal proceedings.
Additional figures fled abroad and later faced detention during separate operations. The investigation remains active as authorities review new accounts from affected individuals in Europe, the United States and multiple states in the former Soviet region.
