CEO Of BitRiver Reportedly On House Arrest Amid Tax Evasion Charges

The founder and CEO of Russian Bitcoin mining firm BitRiver, Igor Runets, has reportedly been detained and charged with multiple counts of tax evasion. 

According to reports from local media outlets such as RBK and Kommersant on Sunday, Runets was detained on Jan. 30 and is facing three charges for allegedly concealing assets to evade taxes.

The outlets cite court documents from the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow, which indicate that Runets was charged on Jan. 31 and ordered to be placed under house arrest on the same day. 

Runets’ legal team now has a small window to appeal the house arrest before it becomes fully enforceable on Feb. 4. If an appeal is unsuccessful or not filed, Runets will remain home-bound for the entirety of the case. 

Cointelegraph has reached out to Runets for comment. 

BitRiver was founded in 2017 and has become one of the biggest names in Russian Bitcoin mining, operating large-scale data centers across Siberia that also provide crypto mining services to other companies. 

In late 2024, Bloomberg reported that Runets’ net worth had hit around $230 million from his involvement in crypto mining.  

Issues piling up for BitRiver

The firm has faced several challenges since it was first hit with sanctions by the US Treasury Department in mid-2022 in response to the Russia and Ukraine conflict. 

In May 2023, one of its major clients, Japanese banking giant SBI, stopped utilizing the firm’s infrastructure for Bitcoin mining after pulling out of Russia due to the ongoing conflict. 

Related: Russia-linked A7A5 stablecoin processed $100B before sanctions hit: Elliptic

The report from Kommersant claims that BitRiver began cost cuts across the company and scaled back operations towards the end of 2024, which was followed by delayed salary payments for employees.