Catenaa, Thursday, May 22, 2025-Vladimir Smerkis, former head of Binance Russia division and co-founder of crypto trading app Blum, has been arrested in Moscow in connection with a major fraud case, Russian state media reported Sunday.
According to TASS, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court approved a request from investigators to detain Smerkis. The nature and scale of the alleged fraud have not been publicly disclosed, and law enforcement officials have not released further details. CoinDesk was unable to confirm the charges directly with the court.
Smerkis led Binance’s operations in Russia beginning in 2022 and was later appointed to oversee its business across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a regional bloc of 11 former Soviet nations. His tenure at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange ended less than two years later.
In December 2023, he co-founded Blum, a digital trading platform, and served as its chief marketing officer. However, Blum announced on social media Saturday that Smerkis is no longer involved with the project and had stepped down from his role. He has also held leadership positions in other ventures, including Tokenbox.io and The Token Fund.
Binance has not issued a public response regarding the arrest.
The case adds to growing scrutiny of former executives linked to Binance, which has faced global regulatory challenges over the past year. Russia’s crypto sector remains under pressure amid tightening regulations and increased law enforcement actions.
