Bitsmedia reported that a Russian court sentenced Vladimir Smerkis, former head of Binance Russia, to five years in prison on fraud charges. Smerkis was responsible for Binance's markets in Russia and the former Soviet bloc from early 2022 to September 2023, and later launched Bloom, a click-to-earn mini-game on Telegram. Russian prosecutors stated that Smerkis received approximately $110,000 from a cryptocurrency blogger for promotional fees but failed to deliver the promised advertising, instead using the money for personal purposes.
