According to several outlets, the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow has selected a preventive measure for the General Director of BitRiver. Authorities accuse Igor Runets of tax evasion. Investigators believe the entrepreneur intentionally concealed the organization’s money. The court granted the prosecution’s motion and placed the company head under house arrest.
According to reports from Russian media, law enforcement detained Runets on Friday, and officials presented formal charges the following day. He is charged with three counts of criminal activity related to the concealment of assets.
The defense has only a few days to appeal the decision. If the lawyers do not file an appeal by Wednesday or the court rejects it, the ruling will take effect. In that event, the BitRiver founder will remain isolated throughout the investigation.
The company has been operating in the market since 2017 and is considered one of the largest data center operators in Russia. Its main facilities are located in Siberia, where the firm provides hosting services for cryptocurrency mining. At the end of 2024, Runets’ fortune was estimated at approximately $230 M, a significant part of which was generated by the mining business.
A Streak of Troubles Ends in Lawsuits
Criminal prosecution has become another blow for the operator. Business problems began in mid-2022 when the US Treasury Department added BitRiver to its sanctions list. A year later, a major client — the Japanese financial group SBI — ceased cooperation and withdrew equipment from the Russian data centers.
By the end of 2024, the financial situation within the company had deteriorated. Management began cutting costs and curtailed part of the operations, after which interruptions in salary payments to staff began.
In early 2025, the mining operator received two lawsuits from the energy company Infrastructure of Siberia. The plaintiff demands reimbursement of funds under an equipment supply contract, claiming that BitRiver received payment but never transferred the hardware to the customer.
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