The Presnensky Court of Moscow sentenced Vladimir Smerkis, former regional director of Binance in the CIS, to five years in a general regime penal colony in a case of large-scale fraud.
The investigation believes that in the summer of 2024, a crypto blogger approached Smerkis with a request to organize an advertising campaign to promote his social networks. The former top manager of Binance promised to attract about 2 million new users and requested more than 8.8 million rubles for this.
After negotiations, the blogger transferred the money to a crypto wallet, but the promised advertising campaign never materialized. The prosecutor's office stated that Smerkis spent the received funds at his discretion.
Smerkis himself was detained in May 2025. During the trial, the defense claimed he was innocent, and the former head of Binance in the CIS himself stated that he later returned the money to the victim "in excess."
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