New data released by the country’s central bank shows that the vast majority of financial pyramid schemes operated in Russia are targeting investor crypto funds.
Russian monetary authorities have registered a surge in the number of fraudulent players offering fake investment opportunities, including digital assets, precious metals and real estate.
Scammers encourage investors to send cryptocurrency
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) has identified 2,780 entities suspected of illegal activities in the financial sector in the first quarter of the year, highlighting a 56% increase over the same period in 2024.
Over half of these, 1,638, are the characteristics of the financial pyramid scheme. This announced the regulator in a Telegram post this week, cited by the Business News Portal RBC on Tuesday.
The rest is detailed and detailed as professional participants in the Securities Market (897) or lenders (236).
“Traditionally, pseudo-investment internet projects that act as financial pyramids or illegal brokers have taken the lead.”
As always, the scammers launch multiple websites, social media pages and telegram groups to invite unsuspecting victims. Most of these channels exist only temporarily and require minimal initial investment, the bank noted.
Almost all detected, the Ponzi scheme operates as an online platform that provides Russians with money in various investment plans with promised fixed returns. They often tried to convince people that their products were almost as safe as bank deposits.
The project was promoted on social media networks and non-financial sites. They were promoted by bloggers from time to time, CBR noted.
A large proportion of pyramid schemes, 86% of identified platforms, suggested investors should contribute to cryptocurrency, regulators revealed. Last July, it placed a share of the pyramid, which is raising funds through the code at 59%, recalled the RBC.
Cryptocurrency in your favorite investment offers
Fake opportunities presented by scammers often included offers to invest in real estate overseas at attractive destinations such as Bali’s popular Indonesian resorts. In addition to income from rental facilities, they also promised a portion of the money spent by newly attracted investors.
Many of the financial pyramid schemes have seduced Russian citizens, invested in a variety of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, precious metals, goods, and various businesses, providing rapid returns. Some projects lacked much general suggestions, such as investments in power bank rentals.
The central bank said most illegal securities companies acted as foreign exchange dealers, many of whom were allegedly providing services without compulsory licenses and supporting leveraged crypto trading. In fact, they were all operated online and there were no official offices.
The Bank of Russia provided details.
“The Pseudo Forfex Project is aimed at people who are seduced by the promise of high income and who perceive trading in the forex market as a game of coincidence that does not require special knowledge.”
CBR has launched more than 5,200 websites in the pyramid scheme have been removed in the first three months of the year, with over 120 management cases being launched. Banks are also taking other measures to prevent advertising for such projects.
The Russian Central Bank was a strong opponent that allowed cryptocurrencies to circulate freely in the Russian economy. In March, financial authorities proposed the creation of a special “experimental” legal system for crypto operations, and are currently working with the Treasury to launch a state-controlled crypto exchange.
In addition to the online pyramid scheme, Russian authorities have restricted legal crypto-related websites. In April, Russian internet watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked access to the major exchange data aggregators of BestChange.ru, the Russian crypto market.
Discover more from Earlybirds Invest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
