Vladimir Smerkis, a former Binance CIS head and former co-founder of crypto app Blum, was sentenced to five years in a Russian prison colony after a Moscow court found him guilty of large-scale fraud.
Moscow prosecutors said the court convicted Smerkis under Part 4 of Article 159 of Russia's Criminal Code, the fraud charge used for especially large cases.
The case centers on a June 2024 advertising deal, when Smerkis allegedly promised an unnamed crypto blogger that he would create an advertising campaign and attract around 2 million new users for more than 8.8 million Russian rubles, or about $120,000 at current exchange rates.
The court found that Smerkis received the money but didn't organize the campaign and instead used it at his own discretion.
- Smerkis was taken into custody in May 2025. After the arrest, Blum, the Telegram-based crypto trading app he helped launch, said he had left his marketing role and no longer participates in the development of the project.
- Smerkis denied guilt. At a June hearing, he said the service was provided and that 2.5 million users came to Polunin after the advertising. His lawyers later said the damage had been repaid in full, but the court refused to ease his detention.
- Smerkis previously worked at Binance, Red Bull, Mail.ru Group, now VK, and other companies. He launched Blum in July 2024 with Gleb Kostarev, a former Binance executive in Eastern Europe, after both left Binance in September 2023.