BitRiver CEO Igor Runets Detained on Tax Evasion Charges

Igor Runets, the founder and CEO of Russian Bitcoin mining company BitRiver, has been detained on multiple tax evasion charges. According to PANews, court documents from Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky Court reveal that Runets was detained on January 30 and charged on January 31 with three counts of concealing assets to evade taxes. He has been placed under house arrest, with his legal team having a limited window to appeal before the house arrest fully takes effect on February 4. If the appeal is unsuccessful or not filed, Runets will remain under house arrest throughout the trial. BitRiver, established in 2017, has grown to become one of Russia's largest Bitcoin mining companies, operating several large data centers in Siberia. By the end of 2024, Bloomberg reported that Runets' net worth had reached approximately $230 million due to his involvement in cryptocurrency mining.