According to Cointelegraph, Igor Runets, founder and CEO of Russian Bitcoin mining company BitRiver, was detained on suspicion of tax evasion. Court documents from Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky District Court indicate that Runets was detained on January 30 and charged with three counts of concealing assets to evade taxes on January 31. He was sentenced to house arrest. If he fails to appeal or if the appeal is unsuccessful, the house arrest order will take effect on February 4, during which time Runets will be restricted to his home for the duration of the case. Founded in 2017, BitRiver is one of Russia's largest Bitcoin mining companies, operating multiple large data centers in Siberia. According to Bloomberg, as of the end of 2024, Runets had accumulated a net worth of approximately $230 million through his cryptocurrency mining business. Since 2022, when the U.S. Treasury sanctioned BitRiver due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the company has faced multiple challenges, including the Japanese SBI Bank ceasing to use its infrastructure, delayed employee salaries, and two lawsuits from Siberian infrastructure suppliers.
BitRiver CEO Igor Runets Arrested on Tax Evasion Charges in Russia
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Summary
BitRiver CEO Igor Runets was arrested in Russia on January 30 on charges of tax evasion, including three counts of concealing assets. The Zamoskvoretsky Court ordered house arrest, which will take effect on February 4 if no appeal is filed. Runets, a key figure in high-risk assets, built a net worth of $230 million through Bitcoin mining by 2024. He has faced capital gains tax issues since 2022, including U.S. sanctions, halted operations with SBI Bank, unpaid wages, and two lawsuits from Siberian infrastructure providers.
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