The Presnensky District Court in Moscow has sentenced Vladimir Smerkis, former head of Binance Russia and CIS and co-founder of Blum, to five years in prison for large-scale fraud. Prosecutors accused Smerkis of receiving over 8.8 million rubles in cryptocurrency from trader and blogger Oleg Polunin in June 2024 for a promotional campaign to attract 2 million new users. Smerkis allegedly failed to fulfill the agreement and misappropriated the funds. The court found him guilty under Article 159, Part 4 of the Russian Criminal Code. The sentence is not yet final, and Smerkis retains the right to appeal.